No Income support as a Full time student!

~Chameleon~

Cro156 wrote: »

Well it says on my letter ALG FE if thats any help.

Then no, you won't be eligible to claim either of the grants until/unless you apply to university.

As the ALG FE grant is worth only £1500 to you surely there must be something else you can claim otherwise how are you supposed to survive?

ETA: Have been doing a bit of digging around and it seems you can no longer claim IS as a student unless you have a child aged under 5 and you can only claim JSA if your course is less than 16hrs a week.

It seems the only benefits you're eligible for is CTC, CTB and possibly HB (contact your local council to ask about this based on low income). I'm quite astounded at how little help there is out there for vulnerable groups wanting to better their situation to get back into the workplace.

Dunroamin

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

As the ALG FE grant is worth only £1500 to you surely there must be something else you can claim otherwise how are you supposed to survive?
.

Adults aren't generally expected to be in FE full time which is why there isn't maintenance funding for this. Most adults study part time whilst working, although some younger adults are able to live with their parents and work part time.

northerntwo1

I used to have a Sure Start worker dedicated to getting those who missed opportunities into College. They were utterly amazing, they gave confidence, enrolled them, mentored them and I have seen many lone parents now doing degrees and entering professional careers as a result of that worker. They ended that funding last year and the numbers going to college are virtually zero for those on benefits even though the parents I work with can claim Income Support. They removed their lifeline of "you can do it" and I do not have time as I deal with Child Protection more than life changes.

It can be hard but in all honesty it is worth a year's sacrifice and a part time job. I can give you hundreds if not thousands of case studies of parents who have removed themself from poverty to careers (not jobs but a career) with the move to FE. Please do consider it and apply to Gingerbread Trust and other agencies for grants - there is help. I can't advise more - but please message me and I can email the Sure Start Worker who is sadly now teaching full time at college on the access course but still answers my emails for help despite her post being made redundant.

~Chameleon~

Dunroamin wrote: »

Adults aren't generally expected to be in FE full time which is why there isn't maintenance funding for this. Most adults study part time whilst working, although some younger adults are able to live with their parents and work part time.

Well there certainly should be funding available as for many people the only route into HE is by doing a FE education course such as Access first.

Dunroamin

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Well there certainly should be funding available as for many people the only route into HE is by doing a FE education course such as Access first.

There never has been maintenance funding for adults in FE. Many colleges offer part time Access courses and many other students offer one or more OU units as an alternative entry qualification.

There isn't a great deal of point saying what should be available, better to look at alternative routes.

Dunroamin

northerntwo1 wrote: »

I used to have a Sure Start worker dedicated to getting those who missed opportunities into College. They were utterly amazing, they gave confidence, enrolled them, mentored them and I have seen many lone parents now doing degrees and entering professional careers as a result of that worker. They ended that funding last year and the numbers going to college are virtually zero for those on benefits even though the parents I work with can claim Income Support. They removed their lifeline of "you can do it" and I do not have time as I deal with Child Protection more than life changes.

When I worked as a careers adviser for adults in FE, I also saw (and helped) many lone parents start careers through various courses. Unfortunately, I also saw many lone parents abuse the system (not illegally) and it was always obvious that the generous funding that used to apply would be withdrawn.

In many ways it's a shame but, as I already said, there are usually alternatives and the part time route (still available for those on JSA) is often better for adults anyway.

~Chameleon~

Dunroamin wrote: »

There never has been maintenance funding for adults in FE. Many colleges offer part time Access courses and many other students offer one or more OU units as an alternative entry qualification.

There isn't a great deal of point saying what should be available, better to look at alternative routes.

Perhaps not, but whilst trying to find info to help the OP I discovered that single parents could claim IS whilst studying full-time until very recently, so this is something the government has taken away from them. I would have thought with the current high levels of unemployment that allowing those on IS to go to college, therefore bettering their prospects of finding future employment would be encouraged.

If you were an employee and had two candidates to choose from - one who has been unemployed for a considerable length of time or another who is fresh out of college and proved a commitment t0 study - which would you choose?

To the OP: I forgot to include this link for you last night. You might find some useful contacts on it http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/factsheet/14/Money-for-further-education-students

Dunroamin

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Perhaps not, but whilst trying to find info to help the OP I discovered that single parents could claim IS whilst studying full-time until very recently, so this is something the government has taken away from them. I would have thought with the current high levels of unemployment that allowing those on IS to go to college, therefore bettering their prospects of finding future employment would be encouraged.

Lone parents on IS can still study full time and carry on claiming - this hasn't changed. What has changed is that lone parents can now only claim IS until their youngest child is 5, then they have to claim JSA and be available for work. Nobody is allowed to claim JSA and do a full time course, which is why I keep repeating that part time study is the way forward for someone in this situation.

No government ever funds training generously when unemployment is high because there won't be jobs available when the training finishes, making it a poor use of resources. Governments fund training at times when there are lots of jobs available but the unemployed don't have the qualifications or skills to do them, which makes far more sense.

~Chameleon~

Dunroamin wrote: »

Lone parents on IS can still study full time and carry on claiming - this hasn't changed. What has changed is that lone parents can now only claim IS until their youngest child is 5, then they have to claim JSA and be available for work. Nobody is allowed to claim JSA and do a full time course, which is why I keep repeating that part time study is the way forward for someone in this situation.

That's all well and good if there is an accessible college offering part-time courses. I've just checked my local colleges and none offer a part-time courses, only full-time Access or BTEC diplomas.

Dunroamin

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

That's all well and good if there is an accessible college offering part-time courses. I've just checked my local colleges and none offer a part-time courses, only full-time Access or BTEC diplomas.

Then students can offer an OU module as an alternative entry qualification or do an A level or two. There's always a way round any problem if you look at things laterally.:)