Student Child Care grant etc, threshold/eligibilty (MA social work in wales)

becky1985_2

Hi,
Firstly, sorry for the long post - I am thinking about applying to the MA in Social work at Cardiff. Can anyone give me any info about bursaries, child care grants etc?
I am a Welsh student so studying in wales I think I would currently be entitled to a non-means tested bursary of just over £6000, and also a contribution to my fees (which would leave me just over £1000 to pay per year). I'm not going to be applying for a year or two as I need to get some experience, so I know that this may not be the case by the time I am studying.
The confusing bit seems to be the addition means tested elements (child care grant, dependants grant and parental learning grant) various places, including Cardiff University website seem to suggest that MA in social work students may be entitled to these, but I have also been told (and read) that they are only for people studying for their 1st undergraduate degree. As I already have an undergraduate degree and want to do the MA I'm not sure if I would be entitled to any of these? If anyone could confirm either way - especially if you have experience of this in Wales I would be really grateful.
My other question would be how is eligibility to these grants (if I am able to apply for them) tested? I have heard differing advice, some people saying that you household income needs to be below a certain threshold, and others saying they deduct all essential outgoings from your household income, and the remaining amount has to be below a certain threshold for you to qualify. Could anyone shed any light on this or give me any info that would help me work out what I might be entitled to?
I would be soooooo.... grateful for any help at all with this!