Adult Financial Support

Our Adult Support Fund and Advanced Loans Bursary is strictly for students aged 19 and over on 31 August 2020, who have lived in the UK/EEA for the past three years and whose total household income is less than £30,000. If you are in receipt of an Advanced Learner Loan, please visit the Advanced Learner Loans Bursary page. If you are aged 19+ but on the second year of a course you started last year or you have an EHCP, please visit our 16-19 Bursary page.

Important eligibility criteria is available at the bottom of the page.

Travel Bursary	This is a means-tested bursary of £360 or £600 depending on where you live to help with the costs of travelling to college. It is only available if you do not receive subsidised travel through your local authority; you live more than three miles from the campus and have a household income of less than £30,000.
Tuition Examination and Professional Fees Bursary	The support will be either 75% or 50% of tuition examination and professional body fees. It’s advisable that you receive a decision from the Student Finance Team before you complete your course enrolment. Note: if the course you are applying for is eligible for the Advanced Learner Loan then you will be unable to apply for help towards this bursary.
Essential Course Costs Bursary	The support will either be 75% or 50% of your essential course costs such as safety equipment, books or trips. Where the essential course item is provided by Bedford College, for instance, a uniform or a trip, your bursary will be transferred to your department and you will be required to pay the difference. This is not available to students on the second year of a two year course unless essential course costs are specified for the second year.
Residential Bursary	Fees for halls of residence can be supported, although they are very limited. Applications are prioritised by distance from the student’s home and/or availability of transport to Shuttleworth College. We operate a banding system for this bursary for students from very low income households.

» View Adult Support (including Advanced Learner Loans Bursary) Eligibility Criteria

List of Eligible Programme Types 2020/21

Your course must be either:

funded directly by ESFA or by ESFA via a local authority
funded or co-financed by the European Social Fund
otherwise publicly funded and lead to a qualification (up to and including Level 3)
accredited by Ofqual or is pursuant to Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000

Students must provide evidence of how they meet the three strands of eligibility for financial support to include age, residency and household income, as well as be studying on a programme that is subject to inspection by a public body such as Ofsted and the course must be funded directly by the ESFA or by the European Social Fund (ESF) – we can establish this fact from our college database.

Bursary applications will be judged in line with AEB funding guidance for 2020/21.

For the Advanced Learner Loans Bursary, students must have already applied for the Advanced Learner Loan. The college will verify this on the Student Loans Company (SLC) portal; bursary applications will be put on hold where we are unable to view a student’s application status on the portal.

Bursary Eligibility 2020-21

All full time and part time students (including those in receipt of an Advanced Learner Loan) studying on an ESFA funded course, including traineeships, at The Bedford College Group and its incorporated sites (Bedford campus, Kempston campus, Shuttleworth College, Tresham campuses and The Bedford Sixth Form) are eligible to apply for support where they meet the following criteria:

are aged 19 or over on 31 August 2020 and not on a traineeship
have lived within the UK / EEA for 3 years prior to the start of the course
have a household income of less than £30,000 are in receipt of a means-tested benefit or tax credits

In addition, the following will be considered for the Adult Support Fund, those who:

have learning difficulties or disabilities
are care leavers (previous VLB students)
are participating on a Prince’s Trust Team Programme
are on probation or supervised by the Youth Offending Service
experience a sudden change in circumstances, such as redundancy

The following categories are not eligible for adult bursaries:

Students eligible for 16-19 bursary support, see 16-19 bursary policy for further details
Students who meet the criteria for the Academic Excellence Bursary (AEB) at the Bedford [CE1] Sixth Form
Students participating through partnership arrangements
Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training
Students on higher education programmes
International students are not eligible for any financial support

Exceptions

Students that have been mandated to training (full-time or part-time) by Jobcentre Plus will have their travel and childcare costs met by Jobcentre Plus (JCP) where required.
Students who do not qualify for the Adult Support Fund may be considered for support via external educational charities (where available and subject to conditions).
If an asylum seeker is eligible for support, we can only provide support in the form of course-related books, equipment or a travel pass. We are not permitted to give the student financial support in the form of cash.