Benefits for 17yr old full time student

BigAunty

skintmacflint wrote: »

...
When we grew up before the 'benefit' system all the kids in my class had part time work when in school. Think the small amount of CB, there wasn't anything else stopped at 15..

Same here - we worked in McDonalds, Asda, local restaurants. I can vouch that child benefit continued for A'level students as far back 1987, though.

However the type of casual employment we had through sixth form, college or Uni are much harder to get now as they used to be typical student jobs but aren't now.

There wasn't high levels of immigration so there's extra competition for unskilled/low skilled work.

Also lone parents received benefits until their youngest child hit their teens so there wasn't the pressure on them to find employment - now they must seek work much sooner.

There are many more students these days than when we were young so they are competing with a larger pool.

Tax credits have now made it viable for certain groups to take up part time employment that was never worth it before.

Employers now prefer zero hours contracts and full flexibility from their staff around shifts so might avoid students with studying commitments.

I still don't understand why the OP even thought her teenage daughter studying a'levels would qualify for any independent benefits anyway particularly when she is getting a slew of benefits for her but there you go - a part time job for her daughter is a good idea but it's tough out there to get one.

anguk

Dunroamin wrote: »

It seems rather mean for a parent to make a child in FT education pay fares to college when the parent is funded by the state to cover these educational costs.

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Thats OK. You get £70 at least a week for her in CTC and CB and it doesn't cost £50 a week to feed her...

To be fair we don't know if Charityworker is receiving anything from the state, not all under 18s at college still get child benefit or child tax credit, they have to be doing "non advanced" course or A levels to qualify.

I agree with BigAunty that it is much harder to find part-time work now than when I was a teenager. It took my daughter 6 months to find a part-time job that fit in with her school hours, so many jobs that were only for a few hours a week stipulated that you had to be available for work at any time, which of course is impossible when you're in full-time education. For example she applied for a 6 hour contract with Tesco but they turned her down because she had to be available to work any hour the store was open. Luckily she's now found a job that is flexible, it's only 4 hours a week but the employers are willing to fit her hours around her university study times and there's often over-time available if she can do it.

I remember when I was her age shop workers were split into different categories, full and part time days, evenings and weekends, now you just seem to be given a contract for so many hours but it's not set times each week it's any time the store is open. So one week you may do your hours in the evening but the next week they may want you in during the day which is impossible if you're in full-time education.

Mrs_Arcanum

Sixth form does cost more immediately. Text Books are not provided, nor is paper or exercise books. So you have to buy files and file paper and text books, which if the school cannot get a cheap deal on you may have to pay the full whack for essential course work books if no deals are available. A friend of DD has already paid out well over £60 on art materials and they only started in September.

Sixer

I wonder if some posters realise that many schools are actively DISCOURAGING their 6th formers from getting jobs? Our school's prospectus states "if you get a part-time job, please don't do too many hours - your studies are more important". And I got a letter from the principal to say that there's a "rule" to inform the school if a 6th former is working 15 or more hours a week. Not every parent is independent-minded enough to say "Rule? About what MY child does outside of school? You know what? You can fork right off. I bring up my child how I see fit and budgeting and independence is part of that."

My son is in the 6th form and has a part-time job. It's mostly 6.5 hours a week, but he sometimes does an extra shift in term time and often in holidays. I think it's good for him, regardless of the money.

But I do think people underestimate the pressure these kids are under today. In my day, you did your 3 A levels (2 if you struggled a bit and 4 if you were a complete boffin or were doing umpteen varieties of maths). In the upper sixth, you spent a morning filling out your university application form and went to a few interviews. You picked an offer, and either got the grades or (for a few) cocked up and had to repeat the year before you got to uni. And you only had exams at the end of the two years. There was plenty of time for a part-time job AND a social life (I did 15 hours a week at a Tesco deli and made it to a good uni without feeling under that much pressure).

These days, they all have to do four subjects - and some do five - in the first year of 6th form because the teachers insist the extra 30 points for an AS might be worth it. The uni application has morphed into some endless treadmill of things you need to have on your "CV". It seems you can't possibly fill it out unless you play for at least one sports team, have done some voluntary work, have participated in extension schemes by the school (eg debating comps, Duke of E) and blah blah ad infinitum. Exams are twice a year for both years so they're always revising. Schools are running scared of every single government initiative so they do things like make PE compulsory for 6th formers. They even have to !!!!!! about for a morning getting their fingerprints taken so they can buy food in the canteen (or not if their mother - me - has civil libertarian principles). And even then, the responsibility for budgeting dinner money is taken away from them.

They're badgered to death, these kids. But at the same time, every opportunity for increasing independence is taken away from them. It's no surprise they don't think a part-time job is a priority. All the evidence tells them it's not. And it takes a blinkin' determined parent to show them otherwise.

(BTW - Miss Moneypenny - you're always agitating for direct support for kids through schools etc rather than cash benefits for parents. I see where you're coming from, but I'm afraid the Orwellian stuff I describe above is a side effect of such policies).

Charityworker

Its funny that I'm being slated for saying that what my daughter earns in her saturday job goes towards her bus fairs to college and saying that it's mean.

In another thread where I was talking about this I got a really "friendly person" come on the thread to say "cant your daughter get a job and fund her own bus fair?". Seems like some people on here will have a go at people just for the sake of having a go at people. Sad.

Arg

McKneff wrote: »

I absolutely detest sarcasm in any shape or form.
People should actually say what they mean.

If you want help and ask for it, and get it, then just accept it gracefully or ignore it.

Deliberately posting in the wrong forum is the opposite of help.
ps, Not that I agree with all benefits handed out like ema.

xylophone

I wonder if some posters realise that many schools are actively DISCOURAGING their 6th formers from getting jobs?

This was certainly the case when I was a sixth former (ah, the dear dead days beyond recall) and indeed my mother told me that I should either be studying or working, not both!

No CB was received for me ( I was the elder of two) and there were no such things as tax credits - there was a married man's tax allowance though.

Mrs_Arcanum

Getting up to a maximum of 10 hours work is actually encouraged locally. However, they do emphasise every 2 hours a week over 10 is usually a grade lost in the exam.

Problem is many places offer 0 hours contracts which cause huge problems with when they have to work.

spikeripley

karenw wrote: »

My daughter is in full time education at school (A levels) I'm a single mum on ESA and really struggling to put her through sixth form. I have applied for a bursary from the school and got refused Is there any benefits my daughter could claim in her own right to help her get through sixth form?

I'm in the same position as you, I'm on ESA and have' twins' in sixth form. Tbh I don't see why your having problems. All your benefits continue the same as when your daughter was in year eleven so unless her bus fares cost a lot or she needs a lot of equipment for her course I don't see why your struggling. Also as you are on ESA you get more money than if you were on JSA and your daughter is still entitled to free school dinners.

CKhalvashi

woodbine wrote: »

funnily enough there are at this time of year,a short cv sent to all retailers in the area(especially the bigger ones)might get a result,i noticed argos had a large poster in store advertising temp part time jobs this week

And the smaller(ish) ones.

We have 4 admin jobs, plus another 6 if you have a driving license and can get to our office (part timers don't have company cars I'm afraid), and are happy to give up 2-3 nights a week on min wage + 10%.

CK