The 19 + Discretionary Learner Support Funds are available to students from families on a low income. 

To be eligible for Learner Support Funds :

• You are 19 years old or over on the 31 August 2023
• You must be registered on a full-time Study Programme on 31 August 2023
• You must have been resident in the UK for 3 years or more at the start of your studies
• Your household income must be below £25,000 gross for the tax year ending April 2023

NOTE: Students who are 19+ who are living with parents but are employed and earning money in their own right need only supply evidence of their income (not household income including parents).

Students who are not earning or claiming benefits in their own right will need to supply evidence of household income from parents.

Your Bursary award may include one or all of the following:

• Travel support for students living over 2.5 miles from the college
• Essential kit and equipment for your course (if sufficient funds are available and your income is below £25,000 this will be considered as on loan to you and will need to be returned to the college at the end of your course)
• Childcare provision–please contact Julie Paige 01256 306393 to discuss Childcare needs as we have limited funding

Childcare eligibility:

• Be enrolled on a course at BCoT studying for a Level 1 or 2 Course
• Be enrolled on a course at BCoT studying for your first Level 3 course (19-23 students only)
• Be a parent or main carer
• Lived in the UK for 3 years or more
• Household income of less than £25,000 p.a.

What funding applies to you?

If you are a parent under 20 years old and are in receipt of Child Benefit you can apply for Childcare Funding through the Care to Learn online application portal.

Care to Learn

The Government operates the Care 2 Learn scheme for those learners who are aged under 20 years (as of 31 August on the start of your course), have a child and are claiming child benefit.

Care 2 Learn will fund up to £160 per child per week to a Registered Childcare Provider.

All applications must be completed online via www.gov.uk/care-to-learn early application is recommended, care to learn will not back date payments if the form is received by them 30 days after the course has started.

Please be aware that if there is a shortfall in your weekly childcare fees then you will be liable to pay the shortfall.  It is recommended that you contact Julie Paige on 01256 306393 to advise her that you are applying for childcare so that she is aware of you when Care to Learn contacts her for confirmation of your status.

Childcare for students older than 20 years of age

If studying for a Level 1 or 2 course or are aged 19-23 and are studying for your first level 3 course, or you are aged over 20 and you have an advanced learner loan in place, you may be eligible for help with your childcare costs through the 19+ bursaries.

NOTE: Please contact Julie Paige 01256 306393  julie.paige@bcot.ac.uk to confirm you are applying or thinking of applying for Childcare as funding is always limited and is allocated on a first come first served basis.  If your Childcare funding has not been approved before the start of your course then the costs for Childcare are the responsibility of the parent.

The Advanced Learner Loan is available to learners aged 19 years and over, wanting to study a Level 3 or 4 qualification, Access to Higher Education course, Vocational Diploma or Vocational Certificates.

For more information please contact Student Records StudentRecords@bcot.ac.uk

Discretionary Bursary Funding

To be eligible for the 19+ Advanced Learner Loan Discretionary Bursary:

• • Learners family income is below £25,000
  • Learners over 19 whose families are in receipt of
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Guaranteed element of the State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax (provided they are not in receipt of Working Tax Credit) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190 p.a., as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
  • Universal Credit with an annual gross income of no more than £7,400 p.a.

Your Bursary award may include one or more of the following:

• Travel support for students living over 2.5 miles from the college
• Essential kit and equipment for your course (if sufficient funds are available and your income is below £25,000, the equipment is considered on loan to you and will need to be returned after the completion of your course)
• Childcare provision –please contact Julie Paige 01256 306393 to discuss Childcare needs as we have limited funding

The Discretionary Bursary is a financially assessed award, to support students facing financial hardship during their studies. The award is dependent on you fulfilling the bursary eligibility criteria as shown below.

• You must have been resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of your studies.
• You must be aged 16 and over but under 19 on 31 August 2023
• You must be registered for a full-time study programme as of 31 August 2023
• Your household income must be below £25,000 gross for the tax year ending April 2023

Your bursary award may include one or all of the following:

• Travel support for students living over 2.5 miles from the college
• Free School meals (if you qualify)
• Kit and equipment (if sufficient funds are available)
• Childcare provision–please contact Julie Paige 01256 306393 to discuss childcare needs as we have limited funding

Our GCSE English and Maths courses are free unless you already hold a Grade C/4 in English or Maths and wish to improve your grade. A fee of £400 will be payable.

If you have an employer or sponsor paying your fees please complete the Employer Authorisation Form and either bring it with you into the College, or post it to Customer Services, Basingstoke College of Technology, Worting Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 8TN.

For the convenience of employers, we can issue invoices for fees. If an employer accepts responsibility for the payment of an employee's fees, that responsibility remains even if the employee leaves the company before the account is paid.

If you are receiving state benefits or your annual gross salary is less than £20,319, you may be entitled to reduced fees for your course.

Higher Education Loans may be available for our HNC, HND and Foundation Degree courses. Visit gov.uk/student-finance for more details.

An Advanced Learner Loan is a great way of covering the cost of your course. It’s not dependent on your income and you won’t need credit checks to apply. You can also apply for more than one loan if you are studying more than one course.* Repayment of your loan will not begin until you’ve completed or withdrawn from your course and once your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan.  Please find further information here.

You can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan if you are:

• Aged 19 or over on the first day of the course.
• Studying an eligible course at Level 3 to Level 6.
• A resident of the UK and have been for the past three years.

*Please note you can only apply once for an Access to Higher Education course.

If you have not achieved any Level 2 or 3 qualifications previously, you may be eligible for a government subsidy.