IA's 'Does my bum look big in this Debt?' Diary

mrsspendalot

IA you would get funding for courses through OU. I get full funding - I have almost completed my degree and haven't spent a penny to get it. The OU funding is really generous and tax credits don't count as income. You also get £250 a year grant for materials and they are really generous with their access to learning fund and I claim back internet access and ink cartridges and everything. I even got £250 off them towards my laptop. You can study from home without worrying about childcare costs too.

bigspender2

Hi IA

Im a lurker on your thread have posted once or twice before, and i am just wondering how ur getting on without the anti depressants?

Im currently doing a open learning course through ILA scotland and get upto 200 pounds a year to do any course im sure there must be something similar in England, the ECDL course im doing only cost 160 pounds so i did not have to pay anything towards it.

Also i work in a community centre and there are lots of adult learning courses done in the community with free creche places available, and the course is free to anyone not working, regardless of your partners earnings

take care
x

barnaby-bear

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

HAve looked into a few courses but there's no way I could afford them.. even the part time ones are really expensive!

Gosh lots of questios and been offline.
It varies area to area how they allocate funds for access and skills for work qualifications. Often the most help available is targetted at the no skills whatsoever basic lifeskills/numeracy but if you push hard with job centres and college advisors you often find obscure/discretionary/childcare funds, plus list prices on courses often cheaper. Individual learning accounts often cover the first so many pounds of tuition at certain levels. It's easier to find funds to get basic maths than crystal healing :eek: (aka mumbo-jumbo) though. Some of the basic / access courses would probably be insulting though as they are sometimes aimed at people who have issues buying a bag of crisps.
To get a maths GCSE I wouldn't expect you to have go to college part time - to be honest a couple of hours evening class once a week will do it especially if only need improving a D to a C (kids get 30 min 4 times a week in school to do maths and they have stuff like acne and boys/girls/underage sex and drinking to worry about too). What makes the difference is how people do the course, if you keep up with the homework right from the start, go online to forums when stuck, admit when it's hard work at it, put the effort in, admit the truth, don't drop in and out of it. Like the debt-busting thing it only works if you keep at it the people who occassionally drop in, don't always do their budget etc flounder.

I've met people who've had problems getting jobs because a lot of employers insist on grade C maths and english and they've said too expensive etc...when it's keeping them in jobs earning thousands less and out of jobs they'd *like* to do however they find the money for driving lessons /tests or over-promised-IT-courses (most computing courses will not get you a well paid web designer job) to 'improve their job options'.

http://www.staffordcoll.ac.uk/course/part_time/part_time_info.php?code=31
Maths GCSE evening class

Tuition Cost: £250 Exam Cost: £30 Additional Costs: £35
The above is a full-price course 33hr assuming no bursaries/discounts etc. For some people if they want to be a classroom assistant/work in bank etc that course cheaper than learning to drive makes sense but it depends what people want to do. Driving is a good analogy if someone just misses their test - they have a few more lessons and retake asap, if someone *just* misses that grade C employer cutoff in GCSE maths - it's just left, why don't the teachers suggest retaking and why the students are encouraged to think well that's it set in stone a large chunk of jobs in accessible done the maths set grade can't do it again I don't know...

For the really determined a couple of text-books and an enthusiasm for online forum and lots of determination is sufficent - the exam entry fee is around £30 for a GCSE. For some people a couple of evening classes in GCSE english and maths can make a huge difference to career options. The OU courses I know less about and are fundamentally more expensive but more funding available.

I think also as a treat - adult education saturday colleges (one day ) are a not cheap (but comparable to a lot of gigs) but fulfilling day trip out
and gives an interest to put on CV (sounds better than the CVs I've seen with interests such as 'socialising')
I did plumbing but your local college has more interesting arty things it seems
http://www.staffordcoll.ac.uk/course/adult_community/adult_com_info.php?course=26

beanielou

lol barnaby bear ~ you described 13 yo DS to a T!!!!!
Spots & all lol

immoral_angeluk

ah well.. just done the maths and savings wise we've got

£60.76 in there now (baring in mind money I've had to just move over to bills account because I cocked up the budget again :rotfl:)
£153.16 on it's way from virgin casino :T
£100 from debt dieter for which I got the cheque this morning :T
£120.80 child benefit on tues
£32 saved from tax credits weds
= £466.72

Meaning that if we weren't going to blackpool we could've paid citi off!!!!

:rotfl:

It does however mean that we can have a great time in blackpool and then not have much to make up when we get back.. I reckon by middle of October we'll have it paid easily

Snaggles

That's brilliant! Drinks are on you in Blackpool then eh??

immoral_angeluk

Snaggles wrote: »

That's brilliant! Drinks are on you in Blackpool then eh??

Sure! Tap water all round!!! :rotfl:

themaccas

Wow that's great IA, then there's all the quidco/topcashback money to come too at some point!!:T

Snaggles

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Sure! Tap water all round!!! :rotfl:

Least you didn't say sea water!!

immoral_angeluk

Snaggles wrote: »

Least you didn't say sea water!!

I'm not THAT cheap.. considering they'll probably charge £2 for a glass of tap water anyway! :rotfl: