16-19 Bursary Scheme & Catch Up Funding

There are two types of awards under the Wood Green School 16-19 Bursary Scheme:

1. Statutory Awards to ‘Vulnerable Groups’
   A bursary of up to £1,200 a year is available for students who are:

• ‘Looked after’ (in care)
• Care leavers
• In receipt of Universal Credit in their own name
• Disabled and in receipt of Employment Support Allowance, who are also in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own name.
   

2. Discretionary Awards
   These are payments made to students whose families are on Gross incomes of under £30,000 per annum, towards, for example:

• Costs of transport to and from School
• Contribution towards the cost of meals at School
• Books and equipment, including curriculum-based trips
• Course-related costs
• Towards the costs of attending university interviews and open days

The Head of Sixth Form is free to determine which students should receive a discretionary bursary and how much they should receive. The Finance Manager will assess each student’s need for financial support, before deciding whether to make an award and if so, for how much.

Bursaries cannot take the form of regular payments for living costs. No ‘blanket’ or flat-rate discretionary payments can be made.

Any books and equipment purchased through the Bursary must be returned to the Sixth Form Administrator when students leave School. If the items are not returned, we reserve the right to make a charge.
 

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Bursary in this academic year:

• Students must be aged 16 or over and under 19 on 31 August (e.g. 31 August 2023 for a 2023-4 academic year application). Where a student turns 19 during their programme of study, the student can continue to be supported to the end of the academic year in which the student turns 19, or to the end of the programme of study, whichever is sooner
• Students will be facing significant financial barriers which prevent them from fully accessing learning

 
Evidence of Eligibility

Students must provide proof of their eligibility for the bursary, they cannot ‘self-certify’.

The following are examples of appropriate evidence:

Statutory Awards to Vulnerable Students

• A letter (for example, from the benefit office), setting out the benefit to which the student is entitled. Ideally this should confirm that the terms of the benefit entitlement allow him/her to participate in further education
• Written confirmation of the student’s current or previous ‘looked-after status’ from the local authority which looks after them, or provides their leaving care services

Discretionary Awards

• The school must take account of a student’s household income. This should be evidenced by:
• Entitlement to the Free School Meals scheme
• Receipt of benefit
• and/or P60 and 6 months bank statements
• Tax Credit Award Notice

      and/or

• Evidence of self-employment income

Conditions for Payment

Payments are conditional on a student meeting agreed standards of:

• attendance
• effort
• behaviour

These will be monitored termly, six times per annum and the conditions are detailed in Appendices 1 – 2.

The school must be advised in advance of any planned absences and as soon as possible in the case of unplanned absences, in line with the following procedure.

Any unauthorised absences or concerns received about behaviour or deadlines missed (for example, for homework or coursework), will mean that the Bursary payment will be discontinued.

If a student does not meet the required standards, they will be notified of the concerns and attendance issues, and payment will be withheld. More information about attendance is given in the Attendance section overleaf.

• Attendance, effort and behaviour information is taken from subject teachers and the registration system on an on-going basis.  A print-out of these will be given to the student to resolve termly, if there are concerns.
• One of three decisions may be made to:
  • Authorise payment
  • Withhold payment (this can later be authorised or stopped depending on the outcome of enquiries)
  • Stop payment.
• Decisions concerning the authorisation of payments are made by the Head of Sixth Form
• Where payment is withheld, the Head of Sixth Form will advise the student, requesting that if the student believes they have a right to payment, the student provides a reason and supporting evidence within two weeks
• Subsequently, if payment is still withheld or stopped and the student feels that the decision is based upon inaccurate evidence the student has the right to appeal to the Head of Sixth Form and should make clear the grounds for this. The appeals procedure is shown below
• The Headteacher reserves the right to withhold or stop authorisation of payments
• If a payment has already been given and there are outstanding concerns, this may jeopardise any future application.

Attendance

Payments may be made where:

• A student has no unauthorised absence for any registration period or lesson within specified terms
• Absence is by either by prior agreement and authorised, or, if it is not by prior agreement (e.g. sickness), it is authorised (e.g. by a parent note). Payment may be withheld where the school has not been notified in advance of an anticipated absence
• Non-attendance within a term (one of the 6 annual school terms) does not exceed up to 3 full days (students must have at least 90% attendance).  NB a half day of absence is recorded where a student fails to attend Period 1 or 4