Financial Support

Firstly there may be a cost involved for tuition fees – when you have enrolled admissions/ enrolment will check if you/ your course are eligible for any fee remission or discounts, or whether you will need to pay for this yourself.

Once this element is sorted, there may be additional course costs you have to pay for in order to fully engage with your course, you may need to pay for these yourself, or you may be eligible for a Bursary.

If you are aged 18 or under on the 31st August of the same year you intend to start your course, you do not have to pay tuition fees (subject to residency criteria).

If you are aged 19 years or over on the 31st August of the same year you intend to start your course, whether you have to pay or not depends on criteria such as age, eligibility for discounts, and whether you live in the UK, European Union (EU) or overseas.

Click here to find out if fees apply to you or alternatively, email the Fees team who will be happy to advise you on whether tuition fees will apply for the course you are looking to study

E: FE-FinanceAndFees@blc.ac.uk

If you are advised by the Fees team that there are no loans, tuition fee remission or discount schemes available – please refer to our 19+ Discretionary Learner Support Fund section below – this is a separate area to Tuition Fees.

We are excited to announce the launch of our new online Bursary portal PayMyStudent at Buxton & Leek College.

PayMyStudent is a brand-new system we have introduced for 2023/24 to help you take control of your Bursary application.

You will be able to use this portal to submit your application, amend or make changes to your application, check the status of your application and to see any awards made to you.

As it is a brand-new system, we may encounter some hiccups within the first few months, so don’t be alarmed or frustrated by this – just send a quick email to

E: Financialsupportfund@blc.ac.uk and we will be happy to help investigate any issues you are having.

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So to get started, check the criteria further down this email to ensure you are eligible to apply for a Bursary and/or the Free College Meal Scheme at Buxton and Leek College, then follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Go to https://blc.paymystudent.com/portal/

Step 2: Register for an account – use our handy guide here to do this: How to create an account – Pay My Student

Remember In order to apply you will need to have a Student ID number– this will be granted to brand new students at enrolment.

Step 3: Submit an application – use our handy guide here to do this: How to apply – Pay My Student (blc.ac.uk)

Step 4: Supply your evidence, the application form will generate what evidence you need to supply based on your answers. You can use our guide(s) here to check what your evidence needs to look like.

Pay My Student @ BLC – Household Income/ Vulnerable Status Evidence requirement checklist

Pay My Student @ BLC – Other Evidence requirement checklist

Step 5: Await the next steps from the Bursary team – whilst we open our Bursary application in Summer, you will not receive any correspondence from us until you have enrolled and have been granted access to your Student Unimail account. During this time, you can login to PayMyStudent to check the status of your application.

Please ensure you acknowledge when the Bursary team is on annual leave (this will be advertised on the PayMyStudent Homepage) and give ample time for them to respond to your enquiry – we are a small team who receive high volumes of applications and enquiries from August onwards, they will aim to respond within 3-5 working days.

An important note for Parent(s)/ Guardian(s) – As a Bursary is granted by the College to the student, our communication will be tailored to the student.

You may need to support with the application process, however, should not apply on behalf of the student unless you have an auditable arrangement to do so.

For further information regarding your role when it comes to Bursary, please refer to the information for Parent(s)/ Guardian(s) found on this webpage.

Important information

If you will struggle to apply at home, please contact us at Financialsupportfund@blc.ac.uk and we will arrange for a member of staff to support you either at enrolment or when you start your course.

Starting college is an exciting time for any student.

At Buxton and Leek College, we value the vital role Parent(s), Guardian(s) and Carers play at all stages in this process.

We hope you have had a chance to see the wide range of financial support that may be available to your child, and this section gives additional guidance and clarification which we hope you will find useful.

Application System

The college has an online system for applying for financial support called PayMyStudent. This is cloud-based, so can be used on any device: PC, laptop, tablet, and mobile phone.

Your child will receive more information about this as part of their Enrolment pack.

Access to PayMyStudent is only available to your child once they have enrolled.

There will be help and support available with this process once your child has enrolled.

Communication

Due to new Data Protection requirements, we are only able to discuss a Bursary application with your child directly.

If you act as your child’s legal representative because they are unable to manage their own affairs, please provide evidence of this arrangement so we can add it to their PayMyStudent record.

Any correspondence to your child will be made via email to their college email account.

If your child has a query about their student finance application, they can email financialsupportfund@blc.ac.uk

Bursary Payments

In order to receive college payments, your child will need to have a bank account in their own name. We are unable to make payments to other accounts unless you can provide evidence that you are legally eligible to do so.

Where possible, Bursary payments will be made in kind i.e. a meal card will be used for use in the onsite cafeterias.

If we award any Bursary monies where we cannot pay it in kind i.e. for an external bus service – a fortnightly payment will be put in place

Bursary payments are only made in term time. No payments are made over Christmas, Easter or the October, February, and May half terms.

Your child can check on the progress of their payments/attendance directly from their PayMyStudent account.

Your child will need to have enrolled and attended for a minimum of two weeks before a direct payment will be released.

From week 4, payments will be made a week in arrears based on a 85% attendance requirement. Any issues relating to register marking should be discussed with the Progress Coach in the first instance.

Supporting a Finance Application

Eligibility for financial support is assessed based on evidence of household income or being in receipt of certain qualifying benefits.

Our online financial support application system PayMyStudent lists the evidence required against each question.

It is extremely important that we have a full copy of welfare benefit letters that detail exact entitlements.

We have produced a separate guide to PayMyStudent, which includes samples of evidence required.

The 16 – 19 Bursary fund is a discretionary and limited source of financial help granted to us by the Government to issue out as Bursaries to learners who will struggle to engage with their course due to the additional costs of study.

Learners from households with an income of less than £45,000pa can apply for support in Academic Year 23/24.

To be eligible for a Bursary – learners must have course costs for which they require support. If no course costs can be evidenced then a Bursary will be declined.

Where possible payments will be made in kind.

Any Bursary payments issued will be dependent on 85% attendance and behaviour monitoring.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE FUND, STUDENTS MUST:

• be enrolled on a Government funded course of further education at the College
• be aged 16-19 on 31 August 2023
• be aged 19-25 and in receipt of an EHCP
• be aged 19 and continuing on a study programme they began aged 16-18
• Be a British Citizen or meet the residency criteria as set out by the Government
• Meet the household income of £45,000.00 or less per annum
• Meet the minimum college standards for behaviour and attendance as set out within the application form
• Have additional course costs for which you require support

Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training, are unfortunately not eligible for the 16 – 19 Bursary Fund, please click here to find out what funding may be available to you if you are looking at or doing an apprenticeship.

There is no entitlement to an award, all Bursaries will be awarded subject to the funds we have availble.

For learners with a household income of less than £20,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• Meal support in the instance you are not eligible for Free College Meals for full timetabled days
• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Between 80-90% of the cost

• • External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
  • Books / equipment
  • Kit
  • Uniform
  • Essential field trips
  • Other extras i.e. , UCAS application

For learners with a household income of between £20,000.01 and  £28,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Between 80-85% of the cost

• External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books / equipment
• Kit
• Uniform
• Essential field trips
• Other extras i.e. , UCAS application

For learners with a household income between £28,000.01 and £35,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with :

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass

Up to 75% of the cost of:

• External Travel (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books, equipment, Kit or Uniform

For learners with a household income between £35,000.01 and £45,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with the following:

Up to 50% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass

If you are under 20 years of age and need assistance with the cost of childcare, you may be able to apply for funding through the Government’s Care to Learn Scheme.

The 16-19 Vulnerable Bursary Fund is for students that are most in need and unlikely to be receiving financial assistance from parents or carers.

Students most in need may be eligible to receive a bursary of  up-to £1,200 a year depending on financial need.

The defined vulnerable groups are students who are:

aged 16 – 18 years of age and

• in care
• care leavers
• receiving Income Support, or Universal Credit because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner
• receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right

Students who meet the criteria of the Vulnerable Bursary will not automatically be entitled to an award, an assessment of their course and financial need will be carried out by the Financial Support Fund Panel and if a financial need can be evidenced, then an award of up-to £1200.00 for the year may be made.

If you are a College student studying at Buxton and Leek College you may be eligible for Free College Meals.

If eligible, an allowance will be provided for the days that you are in college and on placement.

This will be on a meal card at Buxton and Leek for those studying onsite.

You will only be issued a cash payment or vouchers for meal support where we do not have a canteen facility or an agreement in place with the third party providing your course.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR FREE COLLEGE MEALS, STUDENTS MUST:

• be aged between 16 and 18 years old (as at 31 August 2023)
• be aged between 19 and 25  and in receipt of an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan)
• be aged 19 and continuing a study programme you began aged 16-18

YOU OR YOUR PARENTS MUST BE IN RECEIPT OF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The Guaranteed element of the State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 pa

The 19+ Discretionary Learner Support Fund is a discretionary and limited source of financial help granted to us by the Government to issue out as Bursaries to learners who will struggle to engage with their course due to the additional costs of study.

Learners from households with an income of less than £45,000pa can apply for support in Academic Year 23/24.

To be eligible for a Bursary – learners must have course costs for which they require support. If no course costs can be evidenced then a Bursary will be declined.

Where possible payments will be made in kind.

Any Bursary payments issued will be dependent on 85% attendance and behaviour monitoring.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE FUND, STUDENTS MUST:

• be enrolled on a Government funded course of further education at the College
• be aged 19+ on 31 August 2023
• Be a British Citizen or meet the residency criteria as set out by the Government
• Meet the household income of £45,000.00 or less per annum
• Meet the minimum college standards for behaviour and attendance as set out within the application form
• Have additional course costs for which you require support
• Have contacted the Fees Team regarding Fee Remission/ Discounts prior to applying for a Bursary

Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training, are unfortunately not eligible for the 19+ Learner Support Fund, please click here to find out what funding may be available to you if you are looking at or doing an apprenticeship.

There is no entitlement to an award, all Bursaries will be awarded subject to the funds we have available.

For learners with a household income of less than £20,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• Meal support for full timetabled days only
• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Between 80-90% of the cost

• • External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
  • Books / equipment
  • Kit
  • Uniform
  • Essential field trips
  • Professional Memberships
  • Other extras i.e. , UCAS application, Exam resits etc.

For learners with a household income of between £20,000.01 and  £28,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Between 80-85% of the cost

• External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books / equipment
• Kit
• Uniform
• Essential field trips
• Professional Memberships
• Other extras i.e. , UCAS application, Exam resits etc.

For learners with a household income between £28,000.01 and £35,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with :

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Up to 75% of the cost of:

• External Travel (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books, Professional memberships, equipment, Kit or Uniform

For learners with a household income between £35,000.01 and £45,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with the following:

Up to 50% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass
• External Travel (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books, Professional memberships, equipment, Kit or Uniform

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Do you have Children and want to study at College?

The College will pay a 90% contribution towards the cost of childcare costs incurred during the weeks and sessions when you are timetabled to be at College during term time.

Please note: The College does not pay for Christmas, Easter or Summer Holidays. Costs incurred above the support granted are the responsibility of the parent to fund.

For the points above, the following detail applies:

You must be using an OFSTED registered provider which may be a Nursery, pre-school setting or childminder. ‌

If you need support looking for the right childcare for your son or daughter, we have a list of Registered Childcare Providers

*Please also note 2 – 4 year olds may be entitled to 15/30 hours of free nursery education – this entitlement must be used before making a claim for assistance with childcare

This funding can not be used in conjunction with the childcare funding provided by Universal Credit, further information regarding this can be found here.

You can apply before enrolment or during the academic year.

The Advanced Learner Loan Bursary Fund is a discretionary and limited source of financial help granted to us by the Government to issue out as Bursaries to learners who will struggle to engage with their course due to the additional costs of study.

Learners from households with an income of less than £45,000pa can apply for support in Academic Year 23/24.

To be eligible for a Bursary – learners must have course costs for which they require support. If no course costs can be evidenced then a Bursary will be declined.

Where possible payments will be made in kind.

Any Bursary payments issued will be dependent on 85% attendance and behaviour monitoring.

TO BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE FUND, STUDENTS MUST:

• be enrolled on a Government funded course of further education at the College
• be aged 19+ on 31 August 2023
• be a British Citizen or meet the residency criteria as set out by the Government
• have an approved Advanced Learner Loan in place
• Meet the household income of £45,000.00 or less per annum
• Meet the minimum college standards for behaviour and attendance as set out within the application form
• Have additional course costs for which you require support

Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training, are unfortunately not eligible for the Advanced Learner Loan Bursary, please click here to find out what funding may be available to you if you are looking at or doing an apprenticeship.

There is no entitlement to an award, all Bursaries will be awarded subject to the funds we have available.

For learners with a household income of less than £20,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• Meal support for full timetabled days only
• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Between 80-90% of the cost

• • External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
  • Books / equipment
  • Kit
  • Uniform
  • Essential field trips
  • Professional Memberships
  • Other extras i.e. , UCAS application, Exam resits etc.

For learners with a household income of between £20,000.01 and  £28,000.00 per annum, you may be eligible for support with:

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass
• DBS Check

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Between 80-85% of the cost

• External Travel where no College transport is available (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books / equipment
• Kit
• Uniform
• Essential field trips
• Professional Memberships
• Other extras i.e. , UCAS application, Exam resits etc.

For learners with a household income between £28,000.01 and £35,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with :

Up to 100% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Up to 75% of the cost of:

• External Travel (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books, Professional memberships, equipment, Kit or Uniform

For learners with a household income between £35,000.01 and £45,000.00 per annum you may be eligible for support with the following:

Up to 50% of the cost of:

• a College Bus Pass
• External Travel (beyond 1 mile from campus – receipts must be included and a maximum award of £1,000.00 will be awarded for those travelling long distance)
• Books, Professional memberships, equipment, Kit or Uniform

Up to 90% of the cost of:

• Childcare Support (timetabled days only)

Do you have Children and want to study at College?

The College will pay a 90% contribution towards the cost of childcare costs incurred during the weeks and sessions when you are timetabled to be at College during term time.

Please note: The College does not pay for Christmas, Easter or Summer Holidays. Costs incurred above the support granted are the responsibility of the parent to fund.

For the points above, the following detail applies:

You must be using an OFSTED registered provider which may be a Nursery, pre-school setting or childminder. ‌

If you need support looking for the right childcare for your son or daughter, we have a list of Registered Childcare Providers

*Please also note 2 – 4 year olds may be entitled to 15/30 hours of free nursery education – this entitlement must be used before making a claim for assistance with childcare

This funding can not be used in conjunction with the childcare funding provided by Universal Credit, further information regarding this can be found here.

You can apply before enrolment or during the academic year.

£1,000 BURSARY FOR YOUR DEGREE AT UNIVERSITY OF DERBY

Buxton & Leek College is part of the University of Derby. Eligible students who choose to continue their studies by moving into higher education at the University of Derby will receive a £1,000.00 Financial Boost (£900 as a cash award plus a £100 study resource card for Blackwell’s Bookshop). For further information on the Buxton and Leek College Bursary and other Financial Support available to University of Derby students click here.

EXTERNAL BURSARIES

• You may also be entitled to claim additional funds from the following Bursaries. Please see their websites for further details.
  • Bingham Trust Bursary
  • City & Guilds Bursary
  • Fairfield Endowed School Trust Grant
  • Turn2Us

WELFARE & BENEFITS

Many full-time students are not entitled to claim benefits.

Students who are lone parents or are in receipt of disability benefits however, may be entitled to receive certain benefits as a full-time student.

Please contact Citizens Advice if you would like to discuss your entitlement.

Other useful links
www.hmrc.gov.uk/home – for general information about tax and benefits.
www.entitledto.co.uk – for information on benefits and what you may be entitled to.
www.gov.uk – for guidance on employment, debt, benefits and tax.