Fees, funding and bursaries

A bursary fund to support students with travel costs to and from college.

Travel Bursary Terms and Conditions 2021:2022 

To be eligible, students must live three miles or more from the nearest Activate Learning campus offering the course you are joining.  

If you apply by Friday 6 August 2021, students will have their pass available at the start of term. During our peak application period during August and September it can take up to four weeks to process your application and confirm if you have been awarded a bursary, so you will be responsible for any travel costs until your financial support is in place.  

The support provided will be by the most cost - effective method, which will either be a travel pass or travel expenses paid into your bank account. 

If we do not have a purchasing agreement with your travel company, you will be awarded travel expenses. 

Travel Passes 

The cost of your travel will not be backdated; you are responsible for the cost of travel until your pass arrives.   

We will purchase a travel pass on your behalf for the journey you detailed on your financial support application form or the most cost-effective method of travel.  

We purchase travel passes from the following travel companies:  

• Arriva     
• Courtney Buses 
• Chiltern Railways  
• Oxford Buses    
• Reading Buses   
• Great Western Railways (GWR)  
• Southwestern Railways (SWR)  
• Stagecoach Oxfordshire   

If you have been awarded a Stagecoach or rail pass you will have to insert a photograph in the pass for the pass to be valid for travel. 

Passes are available for collection usually within three weeks of the date of this letter: you will be sent a text message as soon as your pass is ready for collection.  

• Passes may be collected from the Advice Centre of your college. If your course is not based at an Activate Learning campus, your travel pass will be posted to your home address
• Where possible we will purchase an annual academic year pass, if this is not available, we will buy a pass each term for your travel 
• We recommend you take a photocopy of your travel pass; this is so that you will have the pass number if you lose the pass and need a replacement
• If the pass requires photo ID it is your responsibility to provide the photograph, these passes are not valid for travel unless presented with the photo ID card
• We recommend you store the pass in a plastic wallet to avoid damaging the magnetic strip on the back
• Funds will not be back dated, and you are responsible for the cost of travel until your pass arrives 
• Any passes not collected within two weeks will be returned to the travel company and there may be a fee for reissuing the pass

Travel Expenses 

You may be awarded travel expenses if:  

• it is the most cost-effective method of support 
• public transport is not available for your journey  
• you have evidenced the need to travel by car due to your childcare arrangements, expenses for fuel are awarded at 15p per mile for the return journey and paid by direct transfer in arrears. 
• we do not have a purchasing agreement with the travel company  
• if you need support towards your contribution for Special Education Needs (SEN) travel provide by the Council  

If you would like the bursary to contribute towards the cost of SEN transport provided by the County Council, you should let us know the estimated amount you will be required to pay the Council when you apply for the bursary. 

SEN transport invoices need to be provided by the end 27 November 2021. 

We are not able to support the cost of taxis to college unless the taxi is provided by the Local Council.  

Schedule when payments for travel expenses due in bank accounts. 

A bursary to support students with the cost of items needed for their study programme.  

Students aged 16–18

Any equipment and materials that are essential for a course may be borrowed from college, therefore the course costs bursary cannot support these costs. 

All decisions about which students receive a discretionary bursary and how much bursary they receive are based on each student’s individual circumstances and their actual financial need. 

The fund supports:

• books, equipment, or specialist clothing that are essential for the course 
• field trips that support the learning aim  
• UCAS fees 
• costs associated with attending university open events/interviews
• work/ industry placement costs such as additional travel, meal credits if eligible and protective equipment.

Please note bursary funds do not support laptops or other IT equipment.

Students aged 19+

• The bursary can support costs for your course as detailed for students aged 16-18
• 19+ course fees (except for students who are eligible for an Advanced Learning Loan)
• We can support with your course fee if you are not eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan e.g. if you are enrolling on a level 2 or ESOL course.
• If you have confirmation that you have been awarded an Advanced Learner Loan, we can support you with the cost of items needed for your course, bursary funds are not awarded towards your tuition fee.
• If you are eligible to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan and choose to pay your own course costs or your Advanced Learner Loan is not approved, you are not eligible for bursary support.

How do I inform you of the costs I would like support with?

Please complete a course costs bursary form.

You may submit additional course costs forms throughout the year if you have more course costs e.g., trips, university open days, without the need to complete a full bursary application each time.

Completing the form for different costs:

• Items for your course: we ask that you buy the items you need for your course then attach the receipts to the course costs form.
• You may not need to provide receipts if your faculty are able to purchase the items for you.
• Fees that are payable to college e.g. a trip or course fee: complete the form, we do not need receipts. 
• If you already have confirmation that you have been awarded a bursary for 2021-22 you need pay only 50% of the fee to college.

On occasion, the faculty may be able to buy the essential items you need directly. If this is agreed, we will let you know that you don't need to buy the items and the bursary funds will be paid to your faculty instead.

Please note students who are enrolled on ESOL courses who need support with fees or travel for additional courses throughout the year should submit a course costs form each term.

Course costs bursary forms are available from the Advice Centre at your local campus.

How do I submit my course costs form and receipts?

Submit completed forms by hand to an Adviser at the Advice Centre or email it to studentfinance@activatelearning.ac.uk  

How do you provide the support?

Funds will be paid by:  

• By direct transfer to your college account if the fee is payable to Activate Learning, this will reduce the amount you owe.
• if you have paid the fee to college in full, we will refund you the amount you have been awarded by direct transfer into your bank account.
• if you have purchased an item from a supplier, we will refund you by making a direct transfer payment into your bank account.

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will receive a free breakfast or lunch for the days you are in college or when studying off-site e.g., on work experience/ placement. 

Am I eligible for Meal Credits?

 To be eligible you must be aged 16-18 on 31 August 2021; or continuing a study programme you began aged 16-18; or have an EHCP plan and you need to supply evidence that your household is in receipt of one 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 guarantee element of State Pension Credit 
• Child Tax Credit (provided you 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 
• Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 pa (after tax and not including any benefits you get) 

If you received free meals last year and we can confirm the award, you will continue to be eligible for free meals if you let us know you want them. We may ask you to provide your free meal entitlement letter. 

Parents who are self-employed and in receipt of Universal Credit will need to provide: 

• Three months Universal Credit award letters and a copy of their tax return bill 
• A completed self-declaration form 

N.B. Working Tax Credit is not a qualifying benefit for free meals 

If you are not eligible for meal credits under the standard criteria you may be able to access these through Student Support. Please speak to a member of the Student Support Team 

How are Meal Credits provided?

Students based at a campus take up their meal credits through college outlets. Payment is made for your meal by presenting your ID card at the checkout. 

How to enable your college ID card – so it will work at the till

• Present your card at the card reader of any college printer and log in to the printer using your network ID and password. 
• To check your card has been enabled, tap your ID card on the printer card reader if the printer logs you in automatically, your card will now work at the till. 
• If you have any queries about how to register your card or experience any difficulties, please come and see an adviser in the Advice Centre.

If your course is not based at a campus with a refectory, you will receive a fortnightly term time Direct transfer payment (£3.50 a day) into your bank account to buy a meal. 

Schedule when payments for meal credit  expenses due in bank accounts.

If you are eligible for Meal Credits and attend a placement you will need to provide details of your placement on a course costs form. 

This bursary supports eligible students who have a financial need to enable them to remain in education. 

Students who meet the criteria for bursaries for vulnerable groups are not automatically entitled to a bursary if they do not have financial needs and/or their financial needs are covered from other sources. 

Bursary fund payments are not made as regular payments for living costs. 

The bursary provides a contribution towards the cost of accommodation for students who are enrolled on a specialist subject that is not available where they live. 

Am I eligible for an accommodation bursary?

To be eligible you must:

• Have a net household incomeofless than £32,000
• Be planning to study a furniture programme or WASPS Rugby programme at City of Oxford College or a land-based programme at Merrist WoodCollege
• Be aged under 19 years old at the start of your full-time study programme and live further than 15 miles from the college. N.B. The bursary does not support a student to participate in general FE provision that is widely available or to enable them to participate in additional activity, for example, to take part in a specific sport.

How is the support provided?

•  contribution is paid directly to the landlord towards the costs of accommodation
• Awards are based on individual circumstances and the type of accommodation and length of stay required
• Students may be awarded travel support of up to £400 from their term time accommodation to their campus.

Support with accommodation for the academic year as follows:

• Band 1: up to £25,000
  Up to £3,458 for five days / week residence.
  Up to £4,100 for seven days/ week residence for students aged 18+
• Band 2: £25,001 -£32,000
  Up to £1,152for five days / week residence

Please note, where students leave part way through the year, or are excluded from their accommodation, their accommodation bursary payments will stop on the date they left their course or were excluded.

I am a parent under 20 years old, can I get help with the cost of Childcare? 

Care to Learn can help you with childcare costs while you study. 

Care to Learn can help with the cost of: 

• your childcare, including deposit and registration fees
• a childcare taster session for up to 5 days
• keeping your childcare place over the summer holidays
• taking your child to their childcare provider

 You can get up to £160 per child per week if you live outside London 

 How do I apply for Care to Learn? 

Apply online at https://www.gov.uk/care-to-learn 

Do I need to provide any evidence? 

You will need to provide evidence that you receive Child Benefit or a copy of your child's birth certificate to studentfinance@activatelearning.ac.uk 

I am a student aged 19+, can I apply for the Childcare Bursary?

You may be able to receive childcare costs to support time needed to attend timetabled sessions at college plus a realistic amount of time to travel to college to the maximum award. 

How do I apply for the Childcare bursary? 

• Complete the 19+ Bursary Form 2021-22 confirming you would like to apply for the Childcare bursary. 
• Complete a Childcare Provider form 
• Provide copies of your child/rens birth certificate 
• Provide a copy of your Child Benefit letter 

How is the support provided? 

• The amount of funding is discretionary but will normally be for a maximum of £180 per week per child.  
• Funds will be initially allocated for up to two children per household.  
• Funding for any additional children will be subject to availability.  
• Learners enrolled onto on-line courses are awarded up to three days childcare for full-time courses and one day's childcare for part-time courses. 
• Funding is for timetabled classes and it does not support independent study. 
• Bursary funds are paid directly to the childcare provider after we have received their monthly or termly invoice. 

N.B. Both students and the childcare provider must return a signed copy of our full Childcare Bursary Terms and Conditions documents before invoices will be paid.