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Finance for further education and training

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

EMA is currently paid to young people who are on full time courses at college or sixth form or unwaged training e.g. E2E. The amount you may get depends on your family income and circumstances, but it may be up to £30 a week with additional bonuses if you do well at your studies.

To receive EMA, you will need to set up a bank account which is much easier to do in Year 11 than it is once you have left school.

To find out more about EMA, ask your Personal Adviser, ring the EMA helpline (080 10 16219) or check out the website: http://ema.direct.gov.uk/ema.html

Tuition fees

If you’re aged 16-19 and on a full time course you usually don’t have to pay tuition fees – the only exceptions are private courses e.g. private drama, health and beauty courses.

Extra financial support from your college or sixth form

Sometimes, if you’re struggling with the costs connected with your studies – for example, buying books and equipment, transport – your college or sixth form may be able to help. To find out more, contact the college or sixth form’s student services section.

Care to learn: support for young parents

Parents with young children may be able to apply for help with childcare costs whilst they’re studying through a scheme called Care to learn.

Students aged 16-20 (and those who have already started but not completed their course and are under 20) may be able to claim up to £155* per child per week (*correct at the time of printing) to help with childcare costs and travel costs to and from childcare provision. Young dads may apply for Care to Learn funds as long as the mother of the child/ren is not already claiming Care to Learn.

For more information, ask your Connexions Personal Adviser, ring the Care to Learn helpline: 0845 600 2809 or check out http://moneytolearn.direct.gov.uk/ and click on Care to Learn

If you’re a teenage parent and need extra support to help you claim Care to Learn, your Personal Adviser may put you in contact with another Personal Adviser who specialises in helping teenage parents.

Dance and drama awards

The dance and dance awards are scholarships to help

students train on specific private dance or drama courses in England. They offer greatly reduced tuition fees and help with living costs.

The dance and drama awards are for students over the age of 16 who are interested in becoming actors, dancers of stage managers.

A list of the colleges and details on how to apply are on http://moneytolearn.direct.gov.uk/ and click on dance and drama awards.

Help for specialist residential students

If you want to study a course which is at a specialist horticulture, agriculture or art and design college which is not within easy traveling distance, you may have to ‘live in’ – in other words, you’ll be a residential student.

To help with the costs of living away from home you may be able to claim funding from your college.

For more information, check out http://moneytolearn.direct.gov.uk/

Other help with education costs

Additional sources of potential financial help include:

Sponsorships, educational trusts and charities. Ask your Personal Adviser for more details.

For more information on finance for further education and training, check out 16-19?: financial help for young people