Bursary and other funds

Childcare Fund

The childcare fund is available to both Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) (HNC and above) levels to assist students on a low income with their childcare costs when using registered childcare providers. 

This money is paid directly to the childcare provider, but a weekly timesheet must be completed both by the provider and the student, and this then submitted to us for payment. 

Childcare is calculated based on your timetabled classes - usually 3 days per week plus placement time if your course requires this. Payments are only made for term time weeks and is not payable for holidays or closure days. It is expected that students will use the Government Funded Nursery provision for 2 to 5-year-olds where possible.  

Please note that FE bursary, childcare and hardship funds are discretionary and cash limited. This means that even though you may be eligible to apply for these funds they are allocated on a "first come, first served" basis and may run out. Payments may also be withheld if attendance or behaviour is not satisfactory. 

Bursaries and discretionary fund payments are paid into your bank account every two weeks in arrears – but you must have 100% attendance or you may lose your payment for any week where you are late or absent at any time. 

Find childcare providers in your area

Travel costs

The Scottish Government provides free bus travel to young people under 22 years and to older people who are age 60 or more. You are expected to use this for all college-related travel where possible. You will only be considered for a travel allowance if you:

• Are under 22 years of age and do not live on or near a bus route that can get you to college in good time for classes

Or

• You are 22 years or older, but under 60 

And

• You live more than 2 miles from the college centre that you attend

If you have to travel by train your travel cost will be based on the cheapest fare available making use of a Highland Rail Card. Where travel has to be by car the mileage allowance is 22p per mile. All travel is capped at a maximum of £15 per day except in exceptional circumstances where higher travel costs may be considered.

Students under 25

If you are under 25 but living away from home you will still be assessed on your parents’ income unless you have been self-supporting for three years (and earning above a set threshold each year, based on the basic benefits rate for each year, usually around £3,900 per year), estranged from your parents, married, in an established partnership or have children. You will need to provide evidence of your situation - see funding documents required.

Eligibility for funding

To be eligible for funding you must be:

• Ordinarily resident in the UK for the three years immediately before the start of the course
• Ordinarily resident in Scotland on the first day of the first academic year of the course
• Must be a British or EU national with settled status and have lived more than half your life in Scotland or the EU
• Have satisfactory attendance, behaviour and progress

You may not be eligible for funding if:

• You are over 18 and have had previous financial help for a full-time course(s) or have previously studied at a higher level. There can be no more than 3 years of funding (SAAS, Student Loan or Bursary) in any six-year period.
• You did not complete and/or failed the course that you have previously received support for. If you did not complete your course on medical or compassionate grounds then you may still be eligible for bursary but you may have to provide evidence such as a doctor’s letter to support your claim.

Applying for funding

You cannot apply for a Bursary or EMA until you have been offered and accepted a place on a full-time course.

Once you have done this you will be sent your user ID and password so that you can log into your Student Hub and begin your funding application.

You will need to provide specific evidence to complete your application before we can process it and make an award.

You should plan how you will meet all the costs of studying, including living expenses before you take up a college place. You especially need to think about how you will cover the time between benefits (Universal Credit) stopping and your bursary payments coming in. This could be as much as 4 weeks after all the correct evidence is submitted, so it's recommended that you apply as early as possible for your funding - you do not have to wait for your course to start.

Providing evidence to support your application

All of these funds are means tested and will require documentary evidence to support your application.

If you are under 25 you will be assessed on your parents’ income even if you no longer live with them unless you can show 3 years of self-supporting finances - see a list of the documents you need to provide.

Checking your online funding application

All of the above funds are applied for online via your Student Hub.

To check the progress of your application and to make sure that you have submitted all the evidence required log into your Student Hub. It is here that you will see if any further evidence is needed to support your application. When your application is completed an award letter will be posted on your student hub account in the finance section. There you will also find a list of your expected payment dates if you have been granted an award.

Submitting evidence

Your application will only be processed once you have supplied all the evidence that is required for your situation. This must all be completed within 6 weeks of the start date of your course (if you started late the cut-off date is still taken as the official start date of the course) otherwise your payments will not be backdated. Your application will be withdrawn completely if it is not completed by the 1st of December.

Payment for kit, protective clothing and study aids

Your bursary or EMA application will also cover the costs of any protective clothing, kit or study aids such as core text books.

If you are not awarded any bursary or fail to complete your funding applications then you will have to pay for any of these course-related expenses. This is especially important for courses such as hairdressing, cookery, or maritime where the kit costs can be higher.