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Welsh Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

Am I Eligible?

  1. You will first need to meet the age and residency criteria. You must:
    • Live in Wales
    • Be aged between 16-18 on 31 August.
    • Meet the nationality and residency rules.
  2. You will need to be studying an approved further education course. Your course:
    • Must be considered a full-time course.
    • Require you to study for at least 12 hours per week
    • Should last at least 10 weeks.
  3. You will need to provide evidence of household income:
    • Either £20,817 per annum or less … or £23,077 per annum or less if there are other young people in your household who qualify for Child Benefit.

    NOTE: As this is an external scheme, applications will be assessed by Student Finance Wales, who have full control over the outcome of your application.

    Click here for further information or to apply. :

    If you are unable to apply online and cannot download a paper application from the Student Finance Wales website, please contact [email protected] or visit an MMS Office and we will support you with your application.

What Will I Get?

If you are assessed as eligible for EMA, you will receive £40 a week, paid fortnightly, provided you meet the weekly 100% attendance requirement (this includes authorised absences). A payment schedule will be emailed to you from [email protected] once you have completed and returned the Learning Agreement to MMS.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • MMS will email your Learning Agreement to you from [email protected] once your EMA application has been approved.
  • You must complete and return the Learning Agreement to MMS within 10 days of receipt.
  • Payments will only be issued once you have returned the Learning Agreement to MMS.
  • If you have not returned the Learning Agreement to MMS within 10 days of receipt, your application will be stopped, which means you will not receive any payments.
  • This is because EMA can only finalise your application if you have completed, signed and dated the Learning Agreement.
  • If you are late in signing the Learning Agreement, contact MMS and we will check to see if your application can be reinstated.

To learn more, click here to view “The Little Book of EMA” which will explain all you need to know about EMA for the academic year. Click here to see if you are eligible for the Free College Meals Scheme (FCM).

You will need to complete and sign a new EMA Learning Agreement for the new academic year. This will enable us to confirm your attendance to EMA so that you will continue to receive payments. Please contact MMS if you have not received a Learning Agreement for completion.

If you have not returned the completed, signed and dated Learning Agreement to MMS within 10 days of receipt, your application will be stopped, and you will not receive any payments. Please contact MMS if you have signed the Learning Agreement late, and we may be able to reinstate your application.

Once you have completed, signed, dated and returned your Learning Agreement to MMS, and have started your course, the MMS team can begin to confirm your attendance to EMA. If attendance requirements have been met, payments will then be released by EMA in line with the payment schedule. A payment schedule will be sent to you from [email protected] upon receipt of your Learning Agreement.

EMA will pay the money into your account fortnightly in line with the payment schedule. Please be aware that payments will only be made for term time weeks.

Yes, if you apply within 13 weeks of your course start date.

This may be because you have not been in full attendance in the previous week(s). To receive your EMA you must attend 100% of your timetabled lessons. Authorised absences may be considered as in attendance. Any unauthorised absence will result in nonpayment of EMA.

If your travel costs exceed the £40 weekly EMA payment, you can apply for a bursary. If eligible, it may cover the additional cost of your travel. For more information, please refer to the 16-18 Bursary section.

If these are necessary for your course, then you can apply for a 16-18 bursary. If eligible, the bursary may be able to support these costs. For more information, please refer to the 16-18 Bursary section.

Please contact MMS to complete a new Learning Agreement.

Your EMA payments will stop. If you have moved to another school/college then please contact EMA and they will arrange to transfer your EMA support.

16-18 Bursary

Am I Eligible?

  1. You will first need to meet the age and residency criteria. You must:
    • Be aged 16-18 but under 19 on the 31st August, or, aged 19 and continuing a study programme you started on when aged 16 to 18, or, be aged 19-24 with an approved Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
    • Have the legal right to be in the UK at the start of your study programme.
    • Have been residing in the UK for the 3 years prior to the start date of your course or be in a category that is exempt from the 3-year rule (contact [email protected] if unsure). If you live in Wales and are eligible you should apply for EMA. If not eligible, or if further funding support is required, a 16-19 Bursary application can be submitted.
  2. You will need to be studying an approved academic further education course.
    • Students on apprenticeship programmes or any waged training are employed rather than in education and are therefore not eligible for the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
    • The Bursary cannot support with any costs associated with the Sports Academy.
    • It is generally not expected that students on distance learning courses would need help from the bursary fund as they do not have the kind of costs the bursary is intended to cover.
  3. You will need to provide evidence of:
    • An annual net household income of £30,000 or less (including take home pay and any benefits claimed)

    NOTE: The 16-19 Bursary award is not intended to support with living costs and as such has no impact on eligibility for state benefits.

What Will I Get?

If you are assessed as eligible for a Bursary, we will review the participation costs of your chosen course of study to determine what your award will consist of (look like). For example, we will review:

  1. If you must purchase any essential kit, equipment or books for your academic course.
  2. If you need a DBS check or a CSCS card to complete a work placement for your course.
  3. If you need professional membership to sit an exam or complete your course of study.
  4. If there are any invoiced material fees attached to your course.
  5. If, during term time, you live 2 walking miles or more from the College and therefore fall within our eligibility guidance to receive support towards any incurred travel costs. Click here to find out more.

Additionally

  1. If you are a young carer, we will ask you to complete an additional small questionnaire to assess if any additional support is required to assist you to attend and complete your course of learning. Click here for Young Carer Offer.
  2. We can review travel awards if further costs are incurred when attending any work placements required for the completion of your course.
  3. If you failed the initial exam and additional learning has been completed before retaking the exam, the Bursary could support with the cost of the additional exam fees.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Where possible, Bursary Awards will be paid in kind. For example: an academic year bus pass may be awarded or kit/equip provided directly by the Department. Click here to find out more.
  • Any awarded material or exam fees will be paid directly from the Bursary Fund.
  • Any awards paid monthly, (for example for travel) will only be automatically released if you meet the required attendance threshold overall to date or in the 4 college weeks prior to us sending the payment run to the bank. If awarded, your required attendance threshold will be stated in your Bursary Award Letter.
  • You could be asked to produce receipts at any point in the academic year.
Please click here to apply for Financial Support

We aim to send you an outcome letter via email within 4 weeks of receiving your application, however, during our busy periods it may take longer. Please be aware that we will email you from FEBursary which is a noreply address. If you wish to contact us then send an email to [email protected]. You can also track the progress of your application on the home page of your PayMyStudent account

This will vary depending on the elements of the bursary that you are awarded. Some awards are one-off payments and may be made directly to the Department. You may also be sent voucher codes to purchase a bus ticket (mTicket). If you are awarded money for travel this will be paid directly into your designated bank account via a BACS payment and will generally land in your account by the first Monday of every month (with the exception of bank holidays and the Christmas period). If your application is successful we will send you an award payment schedule detailing when and how you will be paid. Please be aware that if you are awarded money for travel or to purchase items you need for your course, you may be asked to produce a receipt.

We do not expect bursary payments to be paid into another person's account unless in exceptional circumstances where you are unable to administer your own account and manage your own funds. In these circumstances you can request that money is paid into another account, but we will request that you complete the Bank Account Permissions Form which can be found on the home page of your PayMyStudent account.

If your bank details change, you must visit PayMyStudent and update your details as soon as possible. Failure to do so could cause delays in receiving your award. Please contact us at [email protected].

Please notify us at [email protected] if you change your course; we may need to adjust any course fee awards.

Bursary awards and payments are there to enable you to attend your course(s) at College. If you withdraw from learning with SGS College, all bursary payments will stop and you may be liable to pay material fees or return some or all of your bursary equipment/award. If you have been awarded an mTicket this will be canceled from the day of your withdrawal. If you activate the ticket after your withdrawal date then you will be asked to repay the money to the College.

You may not have received your bursary payment if your attendance is below 90%. You can review your account on PayMyStudent to see why your bursary has not been paid. If you believe the attendance record is incorrect, please speak to a member of your department. Alternatively, we could hold incorrect bank details for you; to check this, please visit the team or email [email protected]. Payments are also based on students meeting the College's Behaviour Policy requirements.

Bursary payments will be automatically paid if your attendance is 90% or above in the month prior to the payment run. If there are genuine reasons for lower attendance then speak with your tutor or wellbeing and ask them if they would be willing to complete and submit a bursary release form to [email protected]. We will send you an email from FEBursary to let you know if you are not included on the main bursary run for the month.

There are several reasons why your application may be declined and these will be explained in a Green or Red Decline letter that we will send from FEBursary. Examples of reasons could be: your household income is above the bursary threshold, incomplete application, ineligible course, evidence uploaded is not sufficient or as requested, no funds remaining.

As all awards are subject to available funding, we would recommend applying early and ensuring that all evidence has been uploaded to your application as requested as soon as possible. If funds are available, your bursary will be awarded from the month following your complete application/submission of sufficient evidence and may not be backdated.

Vulnerable Young Person Bursary

Am I Eligible?

To be eligible you must: 1). You will first need to meet the age and residency criteria. You must:
  • Be aged 16-18 but under 19 on the 31st August.
  • Have the legal right to be in the UK at the start of your study programme.
  • Be living in England.
2). You must be in one or more of the groups listed below:
  • In care
  • A care leaver
  • Receiving Universal Credit (UC), or Income Support (IS) and be financially supporting yourself or someone who is dependent on you and living with you, such as a child or partner, and have a Tenancy Agreement in your own name.
  • Receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) as well as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit (UC) in your own right and have a Tenancy Agreement in your own name.
3). You will need to be studying an approved academic further education course.
  • Students on apprenticeship programmes or any waged training are employed rather than in education and are therefore not eligible for the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
  • The Bursary cannot support with any costs associated with the Sports Academy.
  • It is generally not expected that students on distance learning courses would need help from the bursary fund as they do not have the kind of costs the bursary is intended to cover.
4). You will need to provide evidence of your care status. For example:
  • A looked after child letter
  • Evidence of benefits and Tenancy Agreement in own name

See 16-18 Section for Q&A

NOTE: The VYP Bursary award is not intended to support with living costs and as such has no impact on eligibility for state benefits.

What Will I Get?

The maximum amount we can award is £1,200 per learner, per year. We will review the participation costs of your chosen course of study to determine what your award will consist of (look like). For example, we will review:

  1. If you must purchase any essential kit, equipment or books for your academic course.
  2. If you need a DBS check or a CSCS card to complete a work placement for your course.
  3. If you need professional membership to sit an exam or complete your course of study.
  4. If there are any invoiced material fees attached to your course.
  5. If, during term time, you live 2 walking miles or more from the College and therefore fall within our eligibility guidance to receive support towards any incurred travel costs. Click here to find out more.
  6. We will ask you to complete an additional small questionnaire to assess if any additional support is required to assist you to attend and complete your course of learning.
  7. We can review travel awards if further costs are incurred when attending any work placements required for the completion of your course.
  8. If you failed the initial exam and additional learning has been completed before retaking the exam, the Bursary could support with the cost of the additional exam fees.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Whilst you may be eligible, there may be nothing to award if no essential costs are identified.
  • If you are studying on a programme that is less than 30 weeks, a pro-rata amount will be awarded.
  • Where possible, Bursary Awards will be paid in kind. For example: an academic year bus pass may be awarded or kit/equipment provided directly by the Department. Click here to find out more.
  • Any awarded material or exam fees will be paid directly from the Bursary Fund.
  • Any awards paid monthly (for example for travel) will only be automatically released if you meet the required attendance threshold overall to date or in the 4 college weeks prior to us sending the payment run to the bank. If awarded, your required attendance threshold will be stated in your Bursary Award Letter.
  • You could be asked to produce receipts at any point in the academic year.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Free College Meals

Am I Eligible?

To be eligible for this scheme:
  • At the start of the course, you (the learner) must be aged 16-18, aged 19 but in the 2nd year of a study programme you started when you were 18 or be aged 19-24 with an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP).
  • You or a parent/guardian must be in receipt of an approved state benefit and meet the funding criteria.
  • Or, if you are no longer in receipt of an approved state benefit, if you have been in receipt of free meals since April 2018 then you may still be eligible for the protected element of the award. You will need to provide evidence of this in the form of, for example: a letter/email from the local authority or from your previous school or college clearly showing the name.
Click here for details of acceptable benefits

What Will I Get?

If awarded Free College Meals (FCM), for each day you are timetabled to attend College you will have up to £2.61 to spend in the College's onsite canteens and coffee shops. If you apply for and are awarded a Bursary this will be topped up to £4.40. To access this award:

  • You can download the UPay App to pay using the QR code, or use your College ID card. Money not spent at the end of the day will not roll over.
  • If the College site has no canteen, alternative arrangements will be made.
  • If you have dietary requirements, speak to the canteen staff to arrange alternatives.
  • If you're on a work placement or trip, you can pick up a packed lunch from an MMS office.

Childcare Support for Young Parents

Am I Eligible?

To qualify you must:
  • be a parent under 20 at the start of your course
  • be the main carer for your child
  • live in England
  • be a British citizen or have the legal right to live and study in England
  • your childcare provider must be either; registered with Ofsted, registered with a childminder agency or a school

Please Note: You will not be eligible for Care to Learn funding if you are an apprentice who gets a salary.

To apply

You will need to make an application via PayMyStudent. If you answer "Yes" to the "Young Parent" question, then a questionnaire will be automatically generated for you to complete with the following details:

  • Your childcare provider's details including postcode and name/email address of a contact person.
  • Details of any costs for additional travel (required).
  • The name, address, email address and contact details of your support worker (if you have one).
  • Your immigration status (if you are not a British or Irish citizen).

Click here to apply: Financial Support (Money Management Service)

What Will I Get?

The Care to Learn scheme can support with childcare costs whilst you study at SGS College. You could get up to £180.00 per child per week. Care to Learn can help with the cost of:

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

Last updated, 18th July 2022 @ 1:54pm.