cronton sixth form college how to apply

Learner Support Funds 21/22

If you or your parents/guardians are in receipt of means tested benefits or have an annual household income of less than £18,600 you can apply for help with college costs: Travel, meals, books, equipment, uniforms and much more.

  • Bursary and Bursary 2 – weekly cash to support your studies
  • Transport – free bus passes for Warrington’s Own Buses, or travel payments if you are not on a bus route.
  • Bursary Plus – help towards costs such as: uniforms, books, equipment, trips and visits, UCAS applications, CRB checks etc.
  • College meals – If you are under 19 years of age and received free school meals in year 11 you may be able to apply for free meals on the days you are timetabled to be in college.
  • Childcare and Care2learn

To apply students will be directed to an online application form on the student intranet once they have enrolled. Please note you will need to upload evidence to meet the eligibility criteria.

How to apply

Once enrolled, students will be able to apply for financial support via the Student Intranet. Complete the information, upload evidence of household income and students bank details (not parents bank details, students must have their own bank account to apply). We will then process the application and you will receive a message to the students email/Teams address confirming the decision. Please note that no payments will be made before Monday 1st November and any outstanding payments will be backdated.

(Examples of evidence includes a letter from your local authority stating you were on free school meals in year 11 and/or official evidence of benefits – we will not be able to process your application without this evidence.)

For Bursary Plus please note it is available if you or your parents/guardians are in receipt of means tested benefits or have an annual household income of less than £22,000. Please note the terms and conditions apply for all Learner Support Funds.

Eligible students aged 20+ may be able to apply for financial assistance with their child care. Contact the bursary team to arrange an appointment.

The current deadline for submissions is 24th September 2021. You must make a new application at the start of each academic year for any financial support

If you have any questions or queries about the bursary scheme, please email: bursary@riversidecollege.ac.uk

Bursary

This is a weekly payment paid directly into students’ bank accounts. The payment is paid two weeks in arrears and attendance must be above the 85% threshold for them to qualify. This payment is to cover the cost of books, equipment, and any other items to support their studies.

Bursary 2

This is a weekly payment for students who are 16-18 and are:

  • In care or a care leaver.
  • In receipt of Income support or Universal Credit (in their own name) because they are financially supporting themselves and anyone dependant on them, and living with them, such as a child or partner.
  • In receipt of Employment Support Allowance or Universal credit equivalent (in their own name), AND Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments (in their own name). The amount of support will be determined by a Financial Needs Assessment, which may result in a limited award or no award.

Bursary Plus

This is a one-off payment to help purchase items for your course. The amount will differ depending on your course and can be used to purchase uniform or equipment. If you decide to take this option, and are eligible for bursary, you will receive a reduced amount on your weekly bursary amount. If you are interested in this option, please contact the bursary team and we can discuss further.

Free College Meals (FCM)

To be eligible for FCM this academic year, students must be aged between 16-18. If you turn 19 during the year of study, you will still be eligible until the end of the academic year. Any 19+ student who has an EHCP will also be eligible for FCM. To qualify for FCM students should be in receipt of, or have parent/primary carer in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
  • Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC))
  • Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit
  • UC with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 pa/£616 pm (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

If you feel you are eligible for FSM through the ‘Transitional Protection’ scheme, please contact your local authority for evidence and send to bursary@riversidecollege.ac.uk 

You can apply for this through the bursary application form.

Childcare

This is a means tested scheme whereby the college will pay a proportion of childcare costs for students aged 20+, in full time education, to support them to attend college. These funds are paid directly to the childcare provider. Please do not place your child with a childcare provider without an approval from the bursary team as this could result in non-payment of invoices.

To apply, complete the Childcare application in the Student Bursary section on Student Intranet. Eligibility for childcare is the same as bursary, please provide all evidence as requested including child’s birth certificate. Once this has been processed and approved you will be invited for an interview with a member of the bursary team. During this interview you will be given a monthly amount that the college will contribute, and you will provide contact details of the childcare provider. The bursary team will contact the provider and send a contract outlining these details.

This funding is subject to 85% attendance and other terms and conditions which will be discussed in the interview.

Care2learn

This is for childcare support for students under 20 years old. Students will apply on line via https://www.gov.uk/care-to-learn/applying-for-care-to-learn

Scroll to middle of page Apply online for care to learn – click this link Will take you to apply here https://studentbursary.education.gov.uk/w/webpage/student-bursary

Complete online application and once it is processed a member of the bursary team will contact you.

Bus Pass – Warrington’s Own Buses

The College provide a free bus pass to any students who live 1.5 miles from College, are on a full time course or part time course attending 3 times a week. To apply, once enrolled click on to Student Intranet, Student Bursary and Bus pass 21/22.

Initially, for the first two weeks you can use your student ID card to access travel. During this time, you will receive instructions on your College email address from Warrington’s Own Buses on how to download their Touch and Go App and a voucher code will activate your own personal pass on the app. You will then need to ensure that you have your phone with you and charged up when you travel as the bus pass on your phone will be read as you get on the bus.

Click here for more information about travelling to college.

Please note that funding is limited and cannot be guaranteed. College reserves the right to review expenditure against the fund and as a result may alter or close the support package available to students during the academic year.