As part of the Governments initiative to close the gap in attainment between those from less fortunate and more affluent backgrounds they have set aside some money for schools and colleges to allocate to young people. This is called the 16 – 19 Bursary Fund which is broken down into 2 types of bursary, the Vulnerable and the Discretionary Bursary. It is intended to help with any education related costs e.g. meals during the day, equipment or transport to and from school etc. It is not intended to provide learning support, support extra-curricular activities where these are not essential to the student’s study programme or support general household incomes.
A student must be aged 16 or over but under 19 at 31 August 2023 to be eligible for help from the bursary fund in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
The Vulnerable Bursary
You can receive up to £1,200 if you are:
• In local authority care or you have recently left local authority care
• Receiving Income Support or Universal Credit because you are supporting yourself or financially supporting yourself and someone who is dependent on you and living with you, such as a child
• Receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in your own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in your own right
Students who meet the above criteria and have a financial need can apply for a bursary for vulnerable groups.
Evidence of eligibility – For students who are in care or a care leaver, written confirmation of their current or previous looked-after status from the relevant local authority is required. This is the local authority that looks after them or provides their leaving care services. The evidence could be a letter or an email but must be clearly from the local authority.
If a student is in receipt of the specified benefits stated above, in their own name, then evidence of these need to be provided.
How the money is paid – If the application is successful the student will be notified of the amount to be awarded and this will then be paid directly into the student’s own bank account.
Government guidelines state that ‘institutions may decide that although a young person may be eligible for a bursary because they are in one or more of the defined groups, they do not have any actual financial need. This might be because their financial needs are already met and/or because they have no relevant costs. The institution can refuse a student’s application on this basis’ (16-19 bursary fund guide 2024 to 2025 academic year)
Students should only receive the amount they need and therefore will not be awarded the full £1,200 if they do not need the full amount.
The Discretionary Bursary
It is down to the School to decide whether you will receive a discretionary bursary, how much you get and what it should provide. At Boston Endeavour Academy the discretionary money is used to help support students with travel costs to and from school. If a student is successful in their application for support, then the money is paid directly to the transport provider.
There is a limited amount of funding and the level of support that can be provided is dependent upon the total funding which is available to the school and the number of applications. The funding varies from year to year. Therefore, if a student is successful it may be that they will only receive a contribution towards the transport and not the total amount. It will not be possible to support every application and as such priority will be given to those students from the families with the lowest household income and/or highest demonstrated need.
Eligibility – Students whose parent(s)/carers gross annual household income is below £16,191. Consideration will also be given to those whose income is between £16,191 and £30,000.
How to apply – An application form needs to be completed and returned to school as well as supporting documentation which provides evidence of household income. This can be evidenced by P60, evidence of self-employment or benefits award notices, those being the 3 most recent monthly award statements.
If successful– Successful applicants will receive notification of how much contribution they will receive towards their transport cost and this will be paid directly to the School Transport Department at Lincolnshire County Council unless transport is arranged through another provider.
Confidentiality
Boston Endeavour Academy will ensure that applications are handled with the strictest confidentiality. For audit purposes, however, hard copies of all documentation for learner support will be kept for a period of six years. The information will be made available for audit purposes. Some records may be computerised but these will be held securely and in compliance with the Data Protection Act.
Decision Making
A School Panel will consider each application on its own merits. In extenuating circumstances the school reserves the right to make awards to individual students who do not necessarily meet all of the listed criteria. Bursaries will be granted based on the information provided. Funds will only be granted where a genuine need for assistance has been demonstrated. Not all applications will be successful. Students who apply after the budget has been allocated may not be granted an award.
All bursary payments will be linked to attendance.
The Appeals Procedure
An appeals procedure is in place to ensure that all learners who are unhappy about the decision made regarding their help from the 16 – 19 Bursary Funds are treated equally and are given the right to appeal, by writing to the Headteacher, Mr Aaron Bloodworth-Flatt.
Equal Opportunities
No applicant will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief
