Student Bursary Discretionary Learner Support Funding Guidance 2024 /2025
All funds are cash limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Student Learning Fund for 16-18 Year Olds
This fund provides financial or ‘in-kind’ help with a number of course-related costs to eligible students aged 16-18. The bursary can be used to help support travel, equipment, uniform, free College meals and other course-related costs.
*If you are aged under 20 at the start date of your course you can apply for help with childcare costs through the Care to Learn (C-2-L) scheme – www.gov.uk/care-to-learn
Students on an Apprenticeship or Higher Education course will not be eligible.
Who can apply?
Eligible students must:
- be enrolled on a full or part-time study program funded by the Government
- be aged 16-18 as of 31 August 2024
- be aged 19 and returning to the second year of their course/study program
- be aged 19+ and have an Educational and Health Care Plan (EHCP)
- have good attendance
- fulfil normal UK residency rules
- have a household income of less than £28,000
- travel applications will be considered up to £60,000, using a Tier system
16-18 Vulnerable Bursary
Eligible students could be entitled to up to £1,200 per academic year (pro-rata depending on how long your study program is). Please note that each application is assessed on an individual basis and you are not guaranteed to receive the full
£1,200. To be eligible you must be aged 16-18 as of the 31 August 2024 and in one of the following categories:
- in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit (Section 20 & 31 of the children’s Act 1989)
- in Care or a Care Leaver
- in receipt of both Disability Living Allowance/PIP (Personal Independence Payment) AND Employment Support Allowance
What could I receive if eligible for the 16-18 Vulnerable Bursary
You must be fully enrolled and actively attending your study program and have submitted a 2024 / 2025 Student Bursary application form (along with evidence as detailed on the application form) before you can receive any payments
Weekly payments will be made into your bank account, subject to attendance.
Students receiving the 16-18 Vulnerable Bursary will also be eligible for free College meals.
If you are eligible for the 16-18 vulnerable bursary and require a bus pass, the FULL cost of the bus pass will be deducted from your total bursary.
If you are eligible for the 16-18 vulnerable bursary and entitled to Equipment costs, this cost will be deducted from your total bursary.
Student Learning Fund for 19+ Year Olds
(Including Achievement Training Advanced learning loan discretionary learner support funding)
This fund provides financial or ‘in-kind’ help to eligible students aged 19+ including Advanced learning loans (as of 31 August 2024) with a number of course-related costs, such as;
- Equipment
- Uniform
- Travel
- Meal Support
- Loan for a Chromebook
- Childcare
Who can apply?
Eligible students must:
- be enrolled on a full or part-time course funded by the Government
- be aged 19 or over as of 31 August 2024
- be aged 19 or over and be fully approved for the maximum Advanced Learner Loan
- have good attendance
- have a household income of less than £30,000
- have a household income between £30,000 – £35,000 (childcare support only)
*If you are aged under 20 at the start date of your course you can apply for help with childcare costs through the Care to Learn (C-2-L) scheme – www.gov.uk/care-to-learn
Students on an Apprenticeship or Higher Education course will not be eligible.
How do I apply?
You must complete a Student Bursary 2024 /2025 online Application Form. This can be found at https://cityplym.paymystudent.com/portal/.
Please upload the required evidence as requested on the application form, this can be as a download, photo or screenshot. If you are having difficulty uploading your evidence, you can email it to studentlearningfund@cityplym.ac.uk.
If requesting a Citybus bus pass, please upload a headshot picture of yourself with your application.
To ensure your bus pass will be available from the time you are fully enrolled, your application, with evidence, should reach the Student Funding team no later than Thursday 17th August 2024. If you apply after this date, you will need to make your own way to College at your own expense, until the application is processed, you are enrolled and the bus pass is collected. This can take up to ten working days.
If you are aged over 20 and require childcare support, you will have to complete both the Student Bursary 2024/2025 and the 20+ Childcare 2024/2025 applications forms. For Childcare costs to be fully backdated you MUST apply within 28 days of your course starting. Childcare application forms received after this time will only be backdated to the Monday of the week the application form was received by the Student Funding Team or Achievement Training.
For travel, 19+ meal support, childcare and Care to Learn funds/schemes this will be checked on a monthly basis. The Residential Support Scheme and bus passes are activated on a termly basis. Failure to achieve 100% attendance will lead to the non-payment of assistance the following week/month/term.
You can apply for the Student Bursary 2024/2025 from 12th June 2024 and applications can take 6-8 weeks to be fully processed.
Advanced Learner Loans
For learners funded through 19+ Advanced Learning
Application forms, will not be assessed if supporting evidence is not provided.
For learners funded through 19+ advanced learning loans, email additional evidence to: dls@achievementtraining.com
For learners funded through 19+ advanced learning loans the application link will be available from August 1st 2024.
You must also complete both the 2024/2025 Discretionary Learner Funding Application and childcare 2024/2025 this can be found on the Achievement Training website or by using the links.
Discretionary funding form ATL
Additional funding/emergencies
Any student with exceptional hardship or emergency needs can apply for financial assistance to enable you to remain at the College. This is normally a one-off support payment or very short-term support. It cannot be used to substitute state benefits or living
costs.
Attendance
To receive financial support from any of the national schemes or any other funds from the ATL, you must aim to attend 100% of your classes.
Withdrawals
If you withdraw from your course, you will not receive further financial assistance. You may also have to repay any financial assistance you have been awarded and pay any outstanding fees.
Appeals
If your assistance is stopped or withdrawn due to poor attendance then you have the right to appeal. You should appeal to the Student Funding Officer in writing, explaining the circumstances as to why payment/s should be reinstated providing as much information as possible.
If you believe your student funding application has not been assessed correctly, you do not receive a grant or you are not happy with the level of support allocated, you can appeal. Appeals should be made in writing and addressed to Appeals, Student Funding Office, City College Plymouth, Kings Road, Devonport, Plymouth, PL1 5QG or email studentlearningfund@cityplym.ac.uk.
If, for any reason, you are not happy with the outcome of the appeal, please let us know in writing to: Head of Finance, City College Plymouth, Kings Road, Devonport, Plymouth, PL1 5QG or studentlearningfund@cityplym.ac.uk.
You can only appeal once regarding a specific situation. If your appeal is declined, you are unable to re-appeal for the same reason again, unless you can provide new additional information to support your case. The appeal decision is final.
If you are unhappy with the decision of the Head of Finance you can make use of the College’s formal complaints procedure
Advanced learning Loans only
If you are funded through Directly through Achievement Training, If, for any reason, you are not happy with the outcome of the appeal, please let us know in writing to
The Learner Support Manager Achievement Training Norwich Union House 2 St Andrews cross Plymouth PL1 1DN or dls@achievementtraining.com
If, for any reason, you are not happy with the outcome of the appeal, please let us know in writing to: The finance Manager Achievement Training Norwich Union House 2 St Andrews cross Plymouth PL1 1DN or finance@achievementtraining.com
Further Student Funding Conditions
If you enrol and your application is unsuccessful, you will have to pay your course-related costs in full.
If you withdraw from your course/study program, you will have to pay for this in full and your bus pass will be deactivated with immediate effect. There will be no refund of any bus pass payment.
You must supply all necessary evidence with your application. Your application cannot be assessed without it.
If you are on a two year study program, you will need to make a new application for each academic year.
You will not receive funding if you have outstanding debts to the College or your household income is above the rates stated.
All student funding schemes are closely monitored and reviewed accordingly, therefore all schemes may be subject to change at any point throughout the academic year.