Money Matters

You may also be entitled to additional financial help including: Vulnerable Bursary of up to £1,200 per year You may be entitled to this if you are in care (this includes unaccompanied asylum seeking young people), are a care leaver, receive Income Support or Universal Credit (due to financially supporting yourself and anyone dependant on you, and living with you, such as a child or partner), or receive Disability Living Allowance (or the new Personal Independence Payments) and receive Employment Support Allowance (ESA) in your own right. General Bursary Depending on the requirements of your course, you could get financial help with essential equipment, uniform, trips and travel. This is dependant on whether: • Your parents/guardians receive Means Tested Benefits. • Your parents/guardians earn less than £25,000 per year. Free College Lunch You will be entitled to a free lunch at any of the catering outlets up to the value of £3.50. This is on every day you are timetabled to attend College. This is dependant on whether: • Your parents/guardians receive Means Tested Benefits. • Your parents/guardians earn less than £25,000 per year. Free Childcare If you are a young parent under the age of 20 years and you are the main carer for your child, you may be entitled to help with the cost of childcare via the Care to Learn Scheme. See www.GOV.UK/care-to-learn for further details or contact our Finance Officer on 01744 623238 (St Helens College ) and 0151 477 5872 (Knowsley Communtiy College). We also have an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ registered nursery based at our St Helens College, Town Centre Campus. This nursery is available for students who have childcare needs while studying at St Helens College, offering full day care for babies, toddlers and children from birth up to 5 years old. In order to apply for additional financial help, you will need to complete the ‘Bursary Form’ which you will collect with your enrolment paperwork when you come into College. Your parent/guardian will need to help you to complete this once you have enrolled and become a student – you should submit the ‘Bursary Form’ to Reception as soon as you can. For help in determining whether you are eligible for financial support, we have a dedicated Finance Officer at College that can help. Contact 01744 623238 or we can arrange an appointment for you at an enrolment event. Please note that terms, conditions and exclusions apply. This information is updated regularly, but we cannot guarantee that the detail will remain accurate, as Government policy often requires changes to how we operate. Financial support for the General Bursary and free college lunch is subject to household earnings not exceeding £25,000 or being in receipt of Means Tested Benefits which includes; Income Support, Income based Job Seekers Allowance, Income related Employment and Support Allowance, the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit (provided that you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income that doesn’t exceed £16,190), Universal Credit, with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 per annum or support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.