Find out more about Care-Experienced Bursaries
If you are aged between 16 and 26 and are under 26 on the first day of the course, you may be eligible to apply for a care-experienced bursary.
The term “care-experienced” refers to anyone who has experienced a certain form of care in their life (sometimes known as having been ‘looked after’). This care may have been provided in many different settings, such as:
• Formal kinship care – living with a relative who is not your mum or dad
• Looked after at home – with the help of social work
• Residential care – living in a residential unit or school
• Foster care – living with foster carers
• Secure care – living in a secure unit (examples include those provided by a Local Authority, a religious organisation or charity)
• Adoption.
Full time FE care-experienced students can apply through the College for the FE Care-Experienced bursary. The Care-Experienced bursary is £202.50 per week and we will pay you travel over and above this if you live more than two miles from your campus.
Any student who has been in care at some point in their lives can apply for this bursary. You will have to provide us with a letter from your Social Worker to confirm you have experienced care. We have staff who will help you access all the support available so please don’t worry.
Care-experienced students studying above SCQF level 6 must apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for their funding. You can do this by visiting www.saas.gov.uk
The Care-Experienced bursary of £8,100.00 replaces the current-income assessed living cost loan and bursary. If you are in receipt of the care- experienced bursary you are not eligible to apply for a student loan.
When you get an offer of a place on a course, the College will automatically send an activation email to the email address provided on your course application form. Once you have completed the form and this is submitted, we will make an assessment for the type of funding you are eligible for.
You only need to fill out one form. We will assess which type of funding you are eligible for, including travel expenses and course materials, based on your age and personal circumstances. If we require more documents to finalise your award we will send an e-mail or letter requesting the documents.
All funding applications are mobile friendly so don’t worry if you do not have a computer you can use a tablet or your mobile phone. The Student Funding team are always on hand to help. You can email student.funding@nclan.ac.uk to arrange an appointment to discuss your application.
It is really important to submit your application early to ensure you have your assessment before you start college.
Help is available with your accommodation costs over the summer holidays which fall between each year of your course. The maximum payment for this is £105 per week. SAAS will pay this directly to the person that is providing you with accommodation.
If you submit your application by 30 June with no errors and with all supporting documents, SAAS have guaranteed an assessment before your course starts. It is really important to submit your form as early as possible.
Childcare funds are intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students with children in order for them to access and/or continue in education and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. Childcare funds are supplementary to core sources of student funding such as bursaries and student loans.
Childcare awards will be not be made to any learner who has a spouse or partner who is at home during College hours and is able and available to look after the child/children.
All childcare providers must be registered with the Care Inspectorate.
The assessment process is based on need, and all funding is means tested against all household income. If you have a household income above £46,500 you will not be eligible to apply for this fund. This is in line with HMRC Child Tax Credit Assessment https://www.gov.uk/benefits-credits/tax-credits.
The maximum financial support offered to students should not exceed college time and placement time (as defined in the Course Design Document) plus timetabled study time and travel time. In total, this must not exceed 40 hours per week nor 8 hours per day.
The funding award allocated to each child is limited to the college academic calendar (37 week period) and the total award per student will not exceed £7,020.
Discretionary funds are intended to provide non-repayable assistance for students in financial difficulties in order for them to access and/or continue in education and are paid in addition to any other forms of student support. Discretionary funds are supplementary to core sources of student funding such as bursaries and student loans.
Any student who is living in their own/shared accommodation may be entitled to assistance from discretionary funds to assist with their rent. Students studying in 2019/20 received up to a maximum of £70.00 per week. To be eligible you must be able to provide your own tenancy and evidence will be requested to show that you are not in receipt of housing benefits. Please check your eligibility with Housing Benefit, as many young students can study and claim full housing benefit.
A small welfare fund is available to provide short-term loans to students who experienced unavoidable financial emergencies (e.g. due to a delay in receiving funding). If you face financial hardship please seek advice from the Student Advisers who are available in all campuses. Please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible and highlight that you are a care-experienced student.
We are here to help so please contact us if you have any worries or are concerned in anyway either by telephone, e-mail or by dropping into one of our three main campuses below:-
Coatbridge Campus
Kildonan Street
Coatbridge
ML5 3LS
Cumbernauld Campus
Town Centre
Cumbernauld
G67 1HU
Motherwell Campus
1 Enterprise Way
Motherwell
ML1 2TX
Telephone Number: 0300 555 8080
Student Funding: student.funding@nclan.ac.uk
Student Advisors: studentadvisors@nclan.ac.uk
