Financial and Welfare Support for 16-19 Students

You may be able to receive assistance with the cost of travel to and from college if your household income is £30,000 or below.

Passes may be provided for the use of First West Yorkshire, Arriva, TransDev and Metro. This is at the discretion of Leeds City College and the most suitable method of transport will be determined upon receipt of a successful application.

If you received free meals at school, you may be able to continue receiving them at college. You may also be eligible for meal support if your gross household income is £30,000 or below.

Please note, funding and financial support are only available to students attending college for five hours or more per week. Only students attending two sessions or more spanning a meal break per day, or students who attend college five hours or more per day, are eligible for meal support. You may be eligible for a meal worth up to £3.60. You may also be eligible for breakfast in college up until 10am if you are aged 16-19.

To be eligible, you must be 16-18 years old on 31 August 2023, have an EHCP or be a 19+ continuer.

Additionally, your parents must be in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

• Income support.
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).
• 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 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 four weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit).
• Universal Credit with net earnings not exceeding the equivalent of £7,400 per year.

You will need to bring in up-to-date evidence to receive Free School Meals.

Students will not be able to use their meal cards to purchase confectionery and drinks, and the support is in place for students to purchase meals with nutritional value. Drinking water will be made available.

If you are attending a placement you may receive a cash-equivalent voucher to the value of £3.00 per day to be used at a supermarket of your choice.

If you are aged under 20, you may be eligible for help under the government’s Care to Learn scheme which pays for childcare with an Ofsted-registered provider while you are at college up to a maximum of £180 per week for each child.

The Care to Learn scheme can help with the cost of your childcare, including deposit and registration fees, a childcare taster session for up to five days, keeping your childcare place over the summer holidays and taking your child to their childcare provider.

To apply, you must choose your childcare provider before you make a Care to Learn application. The Childcare Advisor can assist you with this. Once you have done this, complete an application online at gov.uk.

After you have applied, you must show a copy of your child’s birth certificate and a letter confirming you are claiming child benefit for your child to the Childcare Advisor. Your childcare provider will only be paid once you have shown evidence of this.

For further information about the Care to Learn scheme, visit gov.uk.

If you are aged 16-18 you could be entitled to a weekly payment as well as support with travel and meals. To be eligible for Priority Fund you must fall under any of the following categories:

• In care
• Care leavers
• Receiving Income Support or Universal Credit because you are financially supporting yourself or yourself and someone who is dependent on and living with you such as a child or partner.
• Receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independent Payments in your own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance in your own right.

To apply for Priority Fund, please email your evidence and bank details to priorityfund@leedscitycollege.ac.uk

The college has a small Welfare Team.  They support students to overcome barriers that are impacting attendance, progression and achievement.  These could be issues such as money worries, housing problems,  loss of income and access to benefits. 

Advice is offered directly to students, or support is given to curriculum staff to help students with their issues. We also refer to external organisations for on-going support.

The team has a childcare adviser who provides targeted support to young parents, ensuring a smooth transition into college by helping find childcare places and manage relationships with childcare providers.

Advice and support are given on a range of social, economic and wellbeing issues to remove barriers to education and enrich the young parent’s experience of college.

Contacts:

welfare@leedscitycollege.ac.uk

childcareadvice@leedscitycollege.ac.uk