19+ Bursary

The 19+ Bursary will cover 100% of the fees.

The 19+ Bursary will cover 100% of the fees. 

Learners can apply for help with a bus pass or a contribution towards fuel costs.

The cost of a bus pass will be covered for adult Learners who live more than three miles from college. You can find details to apply for a bus pass here.

For adult learners who live more than three miles from college, a contribution of £1000 (pro-rata) can be made towards the cost of fuel for learners who wish to drive into college. This will be made in two allocations, one in the Autumn Term and one in the Spring Term.

Transport costs for learners with disabilities who cannot access public transport can be applied for up to a maximum of £1000.

The course tutor must supply the Advice and Guidance Centre at Barnstaple or Tiverton with a detailed breakdown of equipment and additional course costs. Under these circumstances, support can be given up to 100% of the *full cost of equipment once it has been established that the student has met the attendance criteria as laid out by the Attendance and Punctuality Policy.

* In some cases the full cost of equipment may be capped

A meal up to the value of £3.50 can be obtained from the college food outlets for each day attending college. Eligible learners will use their learner ID card to access this.

There is no ceiling in this category but an assessment will be made based on individual needs. Any equipment purchased under this category will be for the exclusive use of the student during their time at college. On completion of the course, the equipment will remain with the college.

80% of the cost of trips (excluding overseas) organised as part of the student’s programme can be covered up to a maximum of £100 in total.

The learner is required to provide evidence of the trip to the Advice and Guidance Centre once they have paid their deposit.

80% of the cost of a residential (excluding overseas) organised as part of the student’s programme can be covered up to a maximum of £500 in total.

The learner is required to provide evidence of the trip to the Advice and Guidance Centre once they have paid their deposit.

The Bursary Funds cover up to 90% of childcare fees for each day the learner is attending college with the maximum amount being £300 per week per child.

Learners will be required to pay a 10% contribution towards the cost of the childcare.

Childcare support can be used to support the costs of any form of formal registered childcare.  This includes nursery, crèche, and childminder or out of school hours place.

Childcare costs cannot be paid to people who are not Ofsted registered e.g. to friends or relatives.

All childcare costs will be paid directly to the registered person/organisation.

Childcare payments will normally only be made during term time, to cover sessions when the student is attending their course.

Learners who are in need of additional funds to support their attendance at college, may be able to access help via discretionary payments.  This part of the Bursary fund can be discussed with the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Team, who can authorise assistance for learners to meet their immediate needs. 

If you require their assistance or wish to discuss your requirements, please contact them on 01271 852468 at Barnstaple or 01884 235350 at Tiverton or the Advice and Guidance Team on at Barnstaple on 01271 852422 or Tiverton on 01884 235245.

Requirements

All Bursary funds are given on the understanding that a student:

• Has met the attendance criteria as laid out by the Attendance and Punctuality Policy and
• Is making good progress and
• Completes the course and
• There are funds available

If any of the above criteria is not met, the student will be liable to pay back any awards made to them from the Bursary Fund.

All allocations are made subject to funds being available; as this is a finite fund there may be occasions when applications are reduced to allow fair allocations of the funds.

Appeals Procedure

Learners have the right to appeal against any decision made in connection with their Bursary Fund application.

Learners wishing to appeal should put the details of their concern in writing and send it to guidancecentre@petroc.ac.uk. Appeals received by the College against a Bursary Fund allocation or decision will be heard by the Tutorial, Enrichment and Progression Manager who was not directly involved in the original decision-making process. The result of this appeal will be given in writing within 10 working days of the receipt of the learner's appeal.

You can do this by logging onto your student account, using your student log in details. Once logged in, you will need to scroll down to the blue ‘Services’ heading and select ‘Bursary Application’.  

You will then be asked a series of questions and asked what you would like support with. Please ensure at least one of these boxes is selected, there is no limit to how many boxes you can check.

Once you have submitted your application, you will have an alert to upload bursary evidence.

Please note that completion of the application form does not guarantee funds. Learners must produce relevant income/benefit evidence. Learners’ attendance must also be in line with the criteria as laid out by the Attendance and Punctuality Policy and they must be making satisfactory progress. Funds are a finite amount and therefore on a first come, first served basis.

Means Tested Benefits

If you receive any of the benefits listed below, you will need to supply an official letter from the awarding organisation (e.g. Benefits Agency, The Pension Service). This needs to be dated within the last three months.

• Income Support
• Income based Job Seekers Allowance
• Employment Support Allowance (ESA - Income related)
• Pension Credits (Guarantee Credit Element)
• Housing/Council tax Benefit
• Working Tax Credit (with an annual income for the previous year showing on the award notice, as under £16,190)

Universal Credit

If you receive Universal Credit, you need to log on to your online Universal Credit account and go to your ‘Payments’ and click into your most recent payment date. Please take a screenshot of the top of the page that has your name on it then scroll down and take a screenshot of your allocations and the section ‘What we take off (deductions)’, even if it has no deductions and send the three pieces of evidence to us. You can also download the full statement and upload it. 

Tax Credits

If you are receiving Tax Credits, please submit your most recent Tax Credit Award Notice. We will need to see the whole of the front page that shows your name and address and the page that shows your income for the financial year. (This is normally on page 2 or 3). Please upload pictures of these two pieces of evidence.  

Employed

If you are Employed, we will need to see one of the following:

• Three of your most recent payslips.
• Your P60.
• Tax Credit Award Notice (see above for evidence required).

Self-employed

If you are self-employed, please send evidence of your most recent tax return.

Once you have completed the online application, you must upload the evidence of your entitlement e.g. benefit/low income/care status etc. to your MyPetroc Account, email it to bursaryevidence@petroc.ac.uk or take it to the Advice and Guidance Centre in Barnstaple or Tiverton where your application can be approved.  

Benefit and care evidence needs to be dated within 3 months; tax credit evidence needs to be the current tax year’s award, clearly showing the income for the previous tax year. Without this evidence your application will not be processed.

When your income evidence is received by the Advice and Guidance Team, a member of the Team will assess your financial eligibility. In most cases this can be done within 14 days and will be confirmed by email or through your MyPetroc message tab.

When will the Bursary be paid?

With the exception of help with transport and free college meals, Learners’ payments are paid conditionally on complying with the attendance criteria as laid out in the Attendance and Punctuality Policy. This is based on the cost of kit that the tutors have supplied to us (receipts do not need to be supplied).

Learners’ attendance will be checked 3 weeks after their start date and payment will be processed if attendance is at 100%. Payment can then be made once bank details have been submitted. Learners can supply their bank details by their MyPetroc account once payments have been allocated. It may then take up to 10 working days to arrive in the designated bank account. 

If a learner falls below 100% attendance in the first 3 weeks, they will then need to demonstrate improvement which will be considered on an individual basis.