Whether your child is going to school, college or university, help is available with the costs of their education.
If you're on a low income, you might be able to get help with some of the costs of sending your child to school, including school meals, transport and uniform.
School Costs
Information on free school meals and milk, help with school uniform, transport to school and discretionary grants is available from CitizensAdvice.
For find out what help is available for the school costs in your area follow the following links.
Planning Ahead
One in four parents borrow to pay costs of back to school. The associated cost of going back to school can be daunting, often costing upwards of £300-£400 for many parents!
By planning ahead you may be able to avoid breaking their budget.
For tips on how to avoid overspending and keep the costs within your budget, click here.
Further Education Costs
Further education (FE) level is post-16 education below degree level and not taught in a school.
There are many sources of financial help towards the costs of taking a course. The GOV.UK website gives a good summary of the options.
Information about the financial help that is available for those in education, who is eligible, how much you can get and how to apply is available at this link..
If you are aged 19 or over and having trouble meeting the costs of participating in further education at your college, Discretionary Learner Support might be one source of help.
More information on funding further education is availabe at the following links:
Disabled Students in Further Education
A factsheet providing funding information for disabled students in the UK who are studying at further education (FE) level is available at this link.
Disabled Students in Higher Education
As a disabled student in Higher Education it is important to be sure that you have applied for the right funding and that the right people know what you need.
A Guide to Disabled Students Higher Education Funding is available at the following links:
Disablity Rights UK provides a Disabled Students Helpline service.
If you can’t get the money you need to do a course from official or statutory sources,Charitable Trusts may be able to help you raise the funds.
Details of Charitable Trusts and what to do to apply is available from DisabilityRightsUK.
Student Finance
A step by step guide to Student Finance can be found at this link.
Further information including applying for student finance is available at the following links:
A repayment calculator for Student Loans is available here.
The Student Loans Company (SLC)
The Student Loans Company (SLC) are a non-profit making government-owned organisation that administers loans and grants to students in colleges and universities in the UK.
There’s over £28m of unclaimed overpayments on England-based student loans affecting over 500,000 students.
Find out how to check to see if you are due any refund and how to claim at this link.
The form to ask the Student Loans Company for a refund for a previous tax year is available from GOV.UK.
Student and Graduate Money
A guide to setting up and managing student bills is available at this link.
A complete guide to all aspects of Student Finance, Budgeting and Cost Cutting is available from MoneyHelper.
A downloadable guide, The Student Money Manual - Everything you need to know about student money management, is available here.
Money Magpie has a range of articles on Student Finance at the following links:
- How to cope and manage student finances
- Student money problems
- Cheap food for students
- Ways students can make money in their spare time
Save the Student
Save the Student is the No. 1 student money website in the UK providing free, impartial advice to students in the areas of Finance, Banking, Making Money, Saving Money, Jobs, Money Saving Deals, Accommodation, Bills, Shopping and more to help make your money go further.
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