Bursary Fund for Students Aged 16-19

The 16-19 Bursary Fund provides financial support to enable young people who facing financial barriers to continue in education or training. They must be aged over 16 but under 19 on 31st August 2025 to be eligible for the 2025 – 2026 academic year.

How to apply

Once you have enrolled onto a programme, you should apply as soon as possible by completing the Bursary Fund 2025/26 online application form. Your application will be assessed, and we will write to you to let you know whether you will receive support.

All information submitted will be treated with confidentiality.

We cannot process your application unless it is fully completed, signed and evidence has been provided with it

Who can apply

• Students aged 16 or over but under 19 on 31 August 2026.
• Students aged 19+ with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan (discretionary bursary and free meals only where the relevant rules are met).
• Students aged 19+ continuing the same study programme they started when aged 16 to 18 (“19+ continuers”).
• Students must also satisfy the residency rules for DfE-funded study programmes.

Types of support

1. Discretionary bursary

This may help with essential participation costs such as travel, equipment, clothing, essential field trips, and in some cases meal support or emergency travel/meal support. Awards are based on household income, individual circumstances, and evidence of actual participation costs. HOET must not make blanket or fixed-rate awards.

2. Vulnerable student bursary

A vulnerable bursary may be available for students in defined vulnerable groups. Support is up to £1,200 a year where that level of support is actually needed; it is not an automatic payment. Students must still show actual participation costs.

• In care.
• Care leavers.
• Receiving Income Support or Universal Credit in their own right because they are financially supporting themselves (and anyone dependent on them living with them).
• Receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in their own right.

3. Free meals in further education

Eligible students are entitled to a free meal for each day they attend their study programme, where this is appropriate. For 2026/2027, students from households receiving Universal Credit are eligible for free meals. Other qualifying benefits may also apply. Free meals are an entitlement where the rules are met and must be considered before any bursary award for food is decided.

How HOET assesses applications

1. We review age, funding status, study programme and residency eligibility.
2. We check the evidence provided for the type of support requested.
3. For discretionary bursary awards, we assess household income and actual participation costs.
4. For vulnerable bursary awards, we verify the student meets one of the defined vulnerable groups and has actual financial need.
5. For free meals, we confirm the student is eligible and that an application has been made. Eligibility should be rechecked annually.
6. Where support is approved, HOET will decide the most appropriate method of support, preferably in-kind where suitable (for example travel pass).

Evidence you may need to provide:

Evidence for discretionary bursary

• Recent Universal Credit award statements.
• Recent wage slips for relevant household earners.
• Recent tax return or self-employment evidence, where applicable.
• Evidence of actual costs, for example travel prices.

Evidence for vulnerable bursary

• Written confirmation from the relevant local authority for “in care” or “care leaver” status.
• Benefit award notice in the student’s own name for Universal Credit or Income Support, where relevant.
• Evidence of DLA/PIP and ESA or UC in the student’s own name, where relevant.
• Evidence of actual participation costs.

Evidence for free meals

• Evidence of Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit.
• A completed application for free meals.
• Any additional evidence HOET reasonably requests to verify eligibility.
• For continuing students, annual recheck evidence may be required.

How support may be paid

• HOET will usually provide support in-kind where appropriate, for example travel passes.
• Where cash reimbursement is appropriate, HOET may ask for receipts and attendance evidence before or during payment periods.
• Payments will normally be linked to actual attendance and ongoing participation, and paid to the learners own bank account.
• Students must use funding only for the agreed purpose.

Important conditions

• Bursary support is based on individual need and available funding; not all applicants will receive support.
• HOET may set conditions linked to attendance, behaviour, receipts, and the return of equipment where this is reasonable and clearly communicated.
• Support may be reduced, withheld, or stopped if agreed conditions are not met, subject to review of individual circumstances.
• Free meals and bursary support must not be double funded. Where a student receives free meals, HOET must consider this before awarding additional food support from the bursary.

Childcare support

Childcare costs are generally supported through the government Care to Learn scheme. Bursary funds may only be used to top up childcare costs in exceptional cases where the Care to Learn maximum is insufficient and the DfE rules permit it.

Fraud, recovery and data protection

• False, incomplete or misleading information may result in support being stopped and overpayments being recovered.
• HOET must protect public funds and may check evidence, request additional documents and investigate concerns about fraud or irregularity.
• Personal information is used to assess and administer student support, keep records for audit, and prevent fraud. HOET should apply its current data protection and privacy arrangements when processing applications.

Contact and next steps

• Complete the HOET bursary/free meals application form as soon as possible after enrolment.
• Provide all requested evidence to avoid delays.
• HOET will confirm the application outcome in writing and explain any support offered, conditions applied, and any further evidence required.
• Email: Bursary@hoet.co.uk

Please ensure that you send over all your evidence with your application form before you require any financial support as back dated payments cannot be made.

Receipt of bursary funding does not affect receipt of other means-tested benefits paid to families, such as IS, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit or UC.

IMPORTANT

Giving false or incomplete information that leads to incorrect/overpayment may result in future payments being stopped and any incorrectly paid funds being recovered. This might result in a referral to the police with the possibility of the learner and/or their family facing prosecution.

PROTECTION OF PUBLIC FUNDS

We must protect the public funds we handle and so we may use the information you have provided on your application to prevent and detect fraud. We may also share this information, for the same purposes, with other organisations that handle public funds, and with this in mind, a sample of applications will be chosen at random for full investigation.

DATA PROTECTION

The data you provide will be used to assess and facilitate your entitlement to help from the 16-19 Bursary Fund. In fulfilling its data protection obligations, we will treat all personal data, held manually and on a computerised database with due care, and will only disclose data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.