Son starting college in sept 09

the_rottweiler

My son (16) had a college interview today and was offered a place.

I need to find out how he can claim ema.
If he needs to join student union and how much is it, and how useful
Any other tips for someone leaving secondary school into further education.

Thanks in advance, cos i havent got a clue

Zinger549

You have to get a form for EMA from the college and fill it out. I don't know what the requirments are but i'm sure someone on here will know. You don;t join the student union, you can jsut particepate and get involved if you want.

tombell12345

ema i belive can be filled out online - google it! whether you are eligible or not depends on the parents income, but he could earn up to £30 a week for attending EVERY class, and then they recieve bonuses on a termly basis of around £100 depending on attendance and results if I remember correctly - dont hold me to that!

depending on the college is whether his college has a student union, this should all be explained to him upon induction. wednesday is usually sports day for college's nationwide.

other tips.... well depending on travel expenses to and from college, you may be able to reimburse some charge. using public transport, in my area stagecoach worked with the college for cheaper tickets. but once again this is depending on college so you would need to contact them.

hope this helps

Magnolia

All the relevent information is usually sent out to new students during July. It is not usual to have to pay to join the NSU but some colleges are using the NSU Extra card which gives more discounts but costs £10.

In our area Arriva operate a half price bus pass for full time students.

You can find out information and download an application form from this site.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/14To19/MoneyToLearn/EMA/DG_066951

Be aware that the 2009/2010 application forms aren't available yet.

You should be able to get the EMA forms from school. The colleges usually only keep a small stock for their own students who are moving on to higher level courses.

Hope you son enjoys his college life.

Oldernotwiser

He needs to be aware that many colleges, quite rightly, expect 100% attendance or deductions will be made from the EMA and he'll miss out on the bonuses. He can also have a part time job without affecting his eligibility for this.

the_rottweiler

Thank you for your replies, fortunately we dont have to worry about fares, we are in london so bus fares for students are free.
Thanks for the ema info though, he does have a part time job but it it when he is needed, rather than set hours, so he will be entitled to full ema as my income is low.

angelbreeze

my son's in his second year at college,regarding ema,if they have 1 day off,say they are ill, they don't get paid,even if they go in the rest of the week.

MrsManda

angelbreeze wrote: »

my son's in his second year at college,regarding ema,if they have 1 day off,say they are ill, they don't get paid,even if they go in the rest of the week.

I think this depends on the school/college and how much the staff trust their students. Unless it's changed, the school fills out the paperwork to say whether the student should get their EMA from an attendance point of view and so can allow discretion in times of illness.
When I went to college I received EMA like a lot of my classmates. Quite a few of my classmates were known to occassionally skive so the staff weren't inclined to believe them when they said they were ill and thus they got their EMA for that week cancelled. On the other hand a number of people in my year were genuinely ill, often for weeks at a time but they made sure the school knew what was happening and also took work home. I don't think any of those people missed any EMA and got their bonuses at the end of each term.

Lokolo

When I recieved EMA if I had the day off once during the week I would still get paid. There has to be a minimum number of hours so if you went below that threshold then you wouldn't be paid. I guess some of us are in college more hours a day than others so taking one day off wouldn't change it.

But bear in mind I am not second year of uni so it was a while ago!

pandas66

you also continue to receive child benefit and wtc

make sure these are claimed.