1. Review and download guidance and application forms: Access the relevant application forms and guidance notes from the UWS website.
   
   
2. Complete the application: Fill out the application form thoroughly, ensuring all sections are accurately completed. There are detailed guidance notes that will help you do this.
   
   
3. Gather supporting evidence: Collect necessary supporting documents as specified in the guidance notes.
   
   
4. Ask for help: If you’ve read the guidance but still have questions, need help, or are unsure about any aspect of the application, email fundingadvice@uws.ac.uk for help.
   
   
5. Submit the application: Email the completed application form, and a single PFD of your supporting evidence to fundingadvice@uws.ac.uk. If you're a continuing student or already enrolled, use your student email account for submission.

The Discretionary Fund provides additional financial support to eligible students who can demonstrate a need during the current academic session. Support is in the form of a non-repayable bursary designed to top up the student support received through the government. Discretionary Funds are intended to help meet basic living costs and assist a student in being able to engage and succeed in their studies.

If you wish to apply for help meeting the costs of study-related childcare, include that in your application to the Discretionary Fund. This means you only need to complete one application, and UWS will assess you for both elements. Your childcare provider(s) will need to complete a form, and you should read the Student Childcare Fund Factsheet for details of the childcare costs that can be considered.

 For part-time applicants, we will confirm eligibility and then look at enrolments to determine the award. This is a contribution towards books/course materials, travel, and childcare, depending on the number of credits enrolled on.

For full time students the application is means-tested, also known as income-assessed, to determine need. The funds are available to help students meet their essential costs of study and living, so the assessment needs to consider what those costs are and compare to your income. Awards for living costs are then made where a student has evidenced that the income they have is not enough to meet their essential outgoings.

In relation to the childcare element of the funds, the same income-assessment is undertaken. Any awards for childcare costs are made where it is evident that the student cannot cover this cost independently.

These funds come from the Scottish Government, so availability is dependent on when we are allocated our budget. In most cases, this is in the summer period before term starts in September, and the webpage is the best place to keep checking for updates.

Funds are limited so it's recommended to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment, especially if applying for the childcare element of the funds. While we do our best to budget the funds so they don’t run out during the year, we cannot make any guarantees that they won’t.

Assuming you continue to meet all eligibility criteria, you should reapply each academic year, as, much like your SAAS funding, Discretionary and Childcare funding will not continue automatically.

Students can apply for funding to assist with study-related childcare costs each academic year, where those childcare needs are not already being met through Government or Local Authority funding.

You should consider the entire academic year. While you might not know your timetable in advance, it is worth noting that the application for help with childcare costs does not require you to provide specific details about which days/hours are being used each week.

You should bear in mind that University term breaks do not always match school holidays, so if applying for after school care, consider that there may be weeks where your child is off school, and you are in University.

You should discuss your requirements with your childcare provider, and ensure they complete the Childcare Provider Form, available from the website alongside your own application form.

Also read how many weeks of childcare support can I apply for, and what is study-related childcare needs FAQs below.

• Full-time students: Up to 5 days per week of childcare for all term-time weeks.
• Part-time students: 1 day of childcare per 20-credit module, up to 15 weeks per trimester.

When we talk about “study-related” childcare needs, we interpret this broadly to include more than just classroom time. Think carefully about this when planning your childcare.

Study-related childcare needs include:

• Virtual attendance at lectures or seminars.
• Classroom-based learning.
• Travel time for in-person attendance.
• Independent study and research.
• Group work.

All students who have been awarded will receive a personalised award email, detail payment pattern, amounts and dates.

• Part time students will receive payments termly, based on enrolments, and (where possible) at the beginning of the term.
• Full time students will usually receive payments monthly.

Payments for childcare are usually made directly to the childcare provider. For part time students this will be termly, and for full time students this will be monthly in advance, after an initial payment that is typically larger.

Where the award received from UWS does not cover childcare costs in full, students should make further payment arrangements with childcare providers.

Your award is based on the details contained within your application, so if anything changes, you must let us know so we can reconsider your application. This applies where your requirements/costs reduce, increase or where you need to change childcare provider.

Where your costs increase, we will always try to provide an additional award, but this will be dependent on the budget so cannot always be guaranteed.

For detailed information and access to application materials, visit the UWS Discretionary & Childcare Funds webpage.