PGCE courses are the only postgraduate courses funded by the full ‘Student Finance’ system which provides assistance with paying tuition fees, a Maintenance Loan for living costs and certain other grants - outlined below - as well as extra support for Disabled Students.

Scottish students are funded through SAAS.

New PGCE students in 2017 will need to apply to their national Student Finance office. There are separate offices depending on whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Details are available at www.gov.uk/student-finance where you can also apply online or download the application (PN1). You should apply early – around Feb/March 2017 is the earliest – in order to be sure that you receive your funding at the start of the academic year in September 2017. We often advise PGCE students to apply on paper, as each year can see teething problems with the online application system for PGCE funding.

In order to be generally eligible for Student Finance funding you need to:

• have ‘settled status’ in the UK*; and
• have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for 3 years before the start of the course*; and
• be ordinarily resident in the UK at the start of the course

*Refugees who have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK do not need to fulfil the 3 years residence requirement; asylum seekers who have been granted exceptional or indefinite leave, humanitarian leave, or discretionary leave to stay in the UK do need to fulfil the 3 years residence requirement.

European citizens classed as EEA Migrant Workers (or their spouses or children), and EU nationals who have lived in the UK for 5 years before the start of their course, may also be eligible.  Certain European students are eligible for fees support only from the Student Loans Company EU Team – telephone 0141 243 3570 for a form or visit www.gov.uk/student-finance

Students who have already acquired Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are already qualified to teach in UK schools. The Government will not fund students through a second QTS course, and therefore such students will not be eligible for any of the Student Finance funding outlined below.

The tuition fees for PGCE courses in 2017/18 are expected to be £9,000 for the year. For students resident in England, a Tuition Fees Loan will be available from Student Finance England to pay the fees.  This loan is not subject to any age restriction and does not depend on household income. You do not start to repay student loans until you are earning over £21,000 per year.

For new starters in 2017/18 and beyond, the government have stopped paying the non-repayable Maintenance Grant to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and instead increased the amount of Maintenance Loan available. Scottish students should visit www.saas.gov.uk for details of their Bursary scheme, as this uses different income scales.

In order to apply for the highest rates of Maintenance Loan you need to be aged under 60 at the start of the course, although a reduced rate is now available to those over 60. 

For English students, the maximum amount of Maintenance Loan will be available to students whose taxable ‘household income’ is assessed to be less than £25,000 per year. 

The maximum rates of Maintenance Loan will be £8,430 for students not living with their parents whilst studying (the ‘elsewhere’ rate), or £7,097 for students who continue to live with their parents whilst studying.  A minimum amount of Loan is paid if your household income is above the thresholds shown below – this is the non-income-assessed part of the Loan:

Indicative levels of Maintenance Loan at ‘Elsewhere’ rate of Loan:

Income                             Loan           

£25,000                            £8,430         

£30,000                            £7,825         

£35,000                            £7,220         

£40,000                            £6,615         

£45,000                            £6,009         

£50,000                            £5,404         

£55,000                            £4,799         

£60,000                            £4,193         

£62,187+                          £3,928  (minimum)

Indicative levels of Maintenance Loan at ‘Parental Home’ rate of Loan:

Income                             Loan           

£25,000                            £7,097         

£30,000                            £6,499         

£35,000                            £5,901         

£40,000                            £5,303         

£45,000                            £4,705         

£50,000                            £4,107         

£55,000                            £3,509         

£58,215+                          £3,124  (minimum)

Your parents’ income (including that of your natural parent’s spouse/partner with whom you live) is assessed unless you qualify for ‘Independent Status’. You can be classed as ‘independent’ from parents, and therefore their income is not counted, if you meet one of the following conditions:

• you are 25 or over at the start of the academic year; or
• you have been married before the start of the academic year; or
• you have financially supported yourself for at least 3 years before the start of your course (you will need to show evidence of earnings / welfare benefits); or
• you have no living parents; or
• you are responsible for a child/children; or
• you are ‘irreconcilably estranged’ from your parents.

If you are married, or you are aged 25 or over and living with a partner, then your spouse/partner’s income is taken into account in assessing your entitlement to the Maintenance Loan.

The gross taxable income 2015/16 of your parent(s)/spouse/partner is taken into account, but any payments made into a personal pension fund which is subject to tax relief are ignored, and £1130 will be deducted for any other child who is financially dependent on them.  Any earnings that you, the student, may have from part-time work whilst studying are totally ignored; only certain taxable ‘unearned’ income you may have will be taken into account.

Students who are classed as being in ‘vulnerable groups’ and who are eligible to claim means-tested welfare benefits while they study (e.g. Income Support, Housing Benefit) will be eligible for a higher rate of Maintenance Loan.  Generally, the main groups of students who will be eligible for this are lone parents, students with certain disabilities, and students who the Department for Work and Pensions have deemed to be incapable of work.  So, a student who fulfils one of these criteria and has a household income of less than £25,000 will receive a maximum Maintenance Loan of either £9,609 (‘Elsewhere’ rate) or £8,372 (‘Parental Home’ rate).

If a student receives this maximum loan, £3566 will be disregarded when calculating benefits (see below).

If you have a spouse or co-habiting partner (if you are aged 25 or over) who is financially dependant on you, you may be eligible to receive a grant of up to £2,834.

Scottish students, funded by SAAS, can receive a Dependants’ Grant of up to £2,640.

If you are a lone parent, married to another student, or have a spouse/partner on a low income or unable to work, you could receive a childcare grant to meet up to 85% of your childcare costs.  The maximum grant for one child is £159.59 per week.  The maximum grant for 2 or more children is £273.60 per week.  Your childcare provider must be registered or approved.  This grant is payable over the vacations (including summer) as well as during the academic year.

If you are in receipt of assistance towards childcare costs through Working Tax Credit (WTC, see below) you cannot also receive the childcare grant.  You can, however, opt to receive the grant rather than the WTC childcare element.  As the grant assists with 85% of the costs, and WTC assists with 70%, this may be advantageous.  Student Finance England will want to see that you have stopped claiming for childcare costs through WTC before awarding you the Childcare Grant.

Students from Scotland, who are funded by SAAS, will be unable to receive funding for childcare costs if studying outside of Scotland.

This is a grant for students with children to help with study-related costs.  The maximum is £1,617.

Scottish students, funded by SAAS, can receive a Lone Parent's Grant of up to £1,305 instead.

The amount of Adult Dependants Grant, Childcare Grant and Parents Learning Allowance you may receive depends on the income of your spouse/partner and/or children.  Student Finance England will calculate your entitlement by looking at the amount of your dependants’ gross income and then deducting either £8,473 for students with a partner and one child, or £9,627 for two or more children. It then assesses your grants using the income that is left.

Lone parents with no assessable ‘unearned income’ and whose children have no independent sources of income should receive the maximum Childcare Grant (depending on actual costs) and Parents’ Learning Allowance.  For lone parents with children who do have sources of income, £9,627 of income is disregarded if they have one child or £10,792 if they have 2 or more children – i.e. the full grants will be paid if the child(ren)’s income is less than these figures.

Please contact Student Financial Guidance Team if you require further information on this calculation.

Additionally to the Student Finance loans/grants system, the government’s Department for Education provides Training Bursaries for PGCE students studying to teach shortage subjects.

Bursary amounts are affected by the qualification held by the applicant, and by the subject you are training to teach. They are split into monthly payment instalments over the PGCE year, but the annual figures are shown on the government website:

https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/bursaries-and-funding

In 2017/18, the University of Sunderland will offer a package of its own Scholarship Programmes to new UK and EU students, some of which are also open to PGCE students.

Check out the ‘Fees and Funding’ link from the University’s website homepage for more details:

www.sunderland.ac.uk

This is a University fund to help students who face unexpected costs, higher than expected costs, or face serious financial problems for other reasons.  Applications can be made once you have enrolled for the academic year.  You will need to provide evidence of all of your income and costs for an assessment to be made.  Priority groups of students for assistance from the Fund include students with children, students who are incapable of work, and final year students suffering financial difficulties.

Applications are processed by the University's Student Support Funds Team. You can find more information on the Fund here.

You can claim Child Tax Credit (CTC) if you are responsible for children or certain young people aged 16-18.  Student funding is effectively ignored in the calculation of CTC and vice versa.  If you have been working and intend to give up your work, or reduce your hours, you should notify the Inland Revenue of this and ask for a reassessment of any CTC you have been receiving.

Working Tax Credit (WTC) is a payment to top up the earnings of working people on low incomes.  If you are responsible for children or certain young people aged 16-18, or you have a disability which puts you at a disadvantage in getting a job, you can claim WTC if you work at least 16 hours per week (although it is not generally recommended that full-time students work any more than 16 hours per week).  If you do not have children or a disability, you can claim WTC if you are aged 25 or over and work at least 30 hours per week – this may be of benefit during the summer vacation period.  Student funding is effectively ignored in calculating WTC – with the exception of the Adult Dependant Grant. The PGCE Training Bursary is also ignored as income.

Please note: From April 2012 couples with children have been required to work 24 hours per week between them, with one member of the couple working at least 16 hours per week, in order to qualify for WTC.

The Government is currently rolling out Universal Credit, which will replace CTC and WTC. If you are affected by the roll-out of Universal Credit please contact us for further advice.

If you are in receipt of Child Tax Credit, but not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and have a household income below £16,190, you should qualify for Free School Meals for your children.

Your student finance and PGCE Training Bursary is not included in the income calculation.

In most areas, you will need to contact the Local Education Authority of your child(ren)’s school and show evidence of your Tax Credits award - usually your latest full Tax Credits Award Notification letter. In some LEA areas, however, the schools handle their own Free School Meals applications themselves, so check with the school to find out to how to apply.

Most full-time students are not eligible for welfare benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support (IS), Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Reduction/Support (CTR) throughout their ‘period of study’ – this includes during vacations as well as the academic year.

Some students are eligible to claim IS and/or HB – single parents, students of pensionable age, students with certain disabilities, students deemed by the DWP to be incapable for work – but the Maintenance Loan is taken into account as income in calculating entitlement for the period from the beginning of September until the end of June. 

The Adult Dependants Grant (if received) is also taken into account in calculating IS, HB, CTR and income-based JSA.  Your PGCE Training Bursary is also included as income. You may therefore only receive a limited amount of benefit (if any at all) during most of the year but receive more during the summer.  The non-student partner of a student can claim these benefits if they meet the usual eligibility criteria – but the student’s Loan and Adult Dependants Grant is taken into account in calculating entitlement.

If a full-time student is eligible for a Maintenance Loan but decides not to take it out, it is still treated as income. Not all of the Loan is taken into account - amounts are disregarded for books/equipment and travel and then a further £10 per week is disregarded.  The Loan, Bursary, and Adult Dependants Grant are treated as income from the beginning of September until the end of June (usually 43 weeks).  From the end of your course you are treated as not having this income and you should ask for your benefits to be reassessed for this period. 

If you are currently receiving means-tested benefits and are considering full-time education, it is usually best to seek financial guidance first, so the relevant calculations can be made. Please therefore contact us for more information and detailed support.

If you have been receiving Incapacity Benefit (IB) or DLA/PIP, you will need to inform the DWP that you are becoming a full-time student.  Becoming a student should not necessarily affect your continued eligibility for IB or DLA/PIP.  However, your ability to study, and your ability to undertake any work placements, may be taken into account if you are required to undergo a personal capability assessment for IB.  You could undergo a similar process for the continuance of a DLA/PIP claim, as the DWP need to assess whether their payments are still relevant to your circumstances.

If you are in receipt of income-based Employment & Support Allowance, then the DWP will not continue to pay this to you when you become a full-time student - UNLESS you are also in receipt of DLA/PIP (as those applicants are protected).

If you have been receiving Carer’s Allowance (CA) because you are providing care for somebody else, again you need to inform the DWP if you become a full-time student.  It is quite likely that you will lose your entitlement to CA.  If you undertake a course of study which involves at least 21 hours ‘supervised study’ per week, you are deemed not to be eligible for CA.  A Court of Appeal decision in 2002 made it more likely for full time students to lose CA due to its definition of ‘supervised study’.

Certain kinds of properties are exempt from Council Tax.  These include student halls of residence and ‘dwellings occupied only by students’ (which includes the house or flat of a student who lives alone). 

If you live with non-students then your property may not be exempt from Council Tax.  If you live with a non-student spouse or partner, and there are no other adults living in your home, you can receive a discount of 25% on the Council Tax bill when you become a student, irrespective of your spouse/partner’s income.  Your spouse/partner may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction/Support to further reduce the bill.

You will need to obtain a Council Tax Certificate from the University after enrolment to prove your status as a full-time student. Simply print one from your university MySunderland account when you have started your course, or pick one up from the Gateway desk.

Due to the intensity of a PGCE course, students tend not to be able to work alongside their studies. Having said that, any earnings you receive while studying a full-time course do not affect the amount of student finance funding you receive. They may, however, affect any Tax Credits or means-tested benefits you may be eligible to claim.