16-19 Bursary Fund

What is the 16-19 Bursary Fund?

If you are aged 16- 19, you could get a bursary which is financial help towards education-related costs. To be eligible, you must be aged 16 to 19 and:

• studying at a publicly funded school* or college in England – not a university
• on a training course, including unpaid work experience

*A publicly funded school is one that does not charge you for attending it.

What is a Bursary for?

A bursary is money that you, or your education or training provider, can use to pay for things like:

• clothing, books and other equipment for your course
• transport and lunch on days you study or train

For full details on Bursary Eligibility and Entitlement and information on when to apply, visit the Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund/print

This guidance is for all institutions that administer the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. This includes schools, academies, FE colleges, sixth-form colleges, training providers, independent specialist providers and local authorities.

The guidance is non-statutory and sets out the arrangements the Secretary of State intends to make under section 14 of the Education Act 2002.

It clarifies a number of areas in response to queries raised by institutions and students, these include:

• promotion of the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund through feeder schools to raise awareness, and help students make better informed post-16 choices;
• clarification on how the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund can be promoted by institutions
• advice on the frequency of payments to students
• the effect of benefit changes to Defined Vulnerable Group Students;
• the error criteria which the EFA will use to determine if payments need to be recovered from an institution
• advice on getting students and their families to sign a declaration statement when applying for support from the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund