Education Maintenance Allowance                   

EMA LEAFLET: The Education Maintenance Allowance is a weekly payment of up to £30 which is paid to eligible young people who stay on in further education.

This handy leaflet is in PDF format and needs Adobe Reader to view it. Read it here.

                             EMA Application Pack

The EMA application pack contains everything you need to apply for the Education Maintenance Allowance.
CLICK HERE to visit the EMA website and get your pack.

What is EMA? This is a weekly payment of up to £30 paid directly to young people who stay on in further education. Bonus payments of £100 are payable if students remain in learning.

                               Click here to visit the EMA website

Come and see us for some friendly advice
At your Local Connexions Centre you can make an appointment to see a Personal Adviser who can give you advice and guidance on this subject and many more.  You can also contact us online to ask a question and receive a reply. To contact us online CLICK HERE.

More about the Education Maintenance Allowance

1. GCSEs ARE OVER…WHAT NEXT?

Is the thought of continuing in further education after your GCSEs about as exciting as watching paint dry?

Maybe you just can’t wait to get stuck into school sixth form or college life? Or perhaps you haven’t really considered what you’re doing next year?

Whether you’re thinking about going to do A-levels or a vocational course, getting your hands on some much-needed cash will most certainly be very high up on your list of priorities. And you’ve probably also considered getting a job to make sure you always have some money to spend.

Well, we might just have the answer to your prayers.

You see, there’s a new kid on the block which could help you get some more cash in hand. If that’s not enough, it might also help you decide what to do next year.

What is it?

It is called the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

2. WHAT IS THE EMA?

The EMA is a weekly payment worth up to £30 per week for students who are aged 16 and planning to continue in further education from September 2004, whether it’s at school sixth form, FE college or sixth form college.

But it’s not just the weekly allowance students can benefit from. There are also bonuses of £100 available if you remain on your course and make good progress with your learning. These bonus payments could be worth as much as £500 in total over a two-year period.

So you think that sounds good? Well, that’s not all. Having money is one thing. Being able to spend it on what you want is another. Yes, you read correctly. You are in charge of every penny. Whatever you chose to do with your well-earned cash is up to you – the money is yours to spend or save exactly as you like.

                               Click here to visit the EMA website

3. WHO IS ENTITLED TO THE EMA?

The EMA is available to you if you’re planning on staying in further education and you live in a household with an annual income of £30,000 or less. You can receive the EMA for two years as long as the household income doesn’t rise above the £30K threshold. However, you can even get it for three years if you need more time in further education to achieve your full potential.

From April 2006 the scope of EMA is to be widened. Unwaged trainees on Entry to Employment (E2E) Programmes and Programme Led Pathways (PLP) funded by the LSC will be paid EMA. Their families will also have access to Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits. Training provision that is not funded by the LSC’s WBL programme will not be covered by these new arrangements.

4. WHAT’S THE CATCH?

The Government obviously won’t give you all this money without asking for something in return. However, the good news is that you just have to commit yourself to your course of study.

In order to qualify for your weekly payment of up to £30, all you need to do is to attend your course and do your work. Your attendance will be monitored each week of term.

The bonuses, however, are not only based on attendance but achievement too. You must demonstrate progress by meeting specific learning goals that are set and monitored by a teacher or tutor.

In other words, you get paid money to gain a good, solid education which will prove invaluable later on in life.

                               Click here to visit the EMA website

5. HOW DO I APPLY?

You will have to fill in an application form which includes a section where your parents/carers give details of their household income. The application form will then need to be sent to the Assessment and Payment Body – its address will be on the application form.

You’ll be able to pick up these application forms from schools and Connexions advisors from mid-April 2004 or through the website www.ema.dfes.gov.uk

6. OTHER QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

Q: How will EMA applications be financially assessed?

A: You must apply for an EMA on a yearly basis. Each application will be means tested, based on household income. Families will be asked to provide a Tax Credit Award Notice (TCAN), which is supplied by HM Revenue and Customs. The relevant tax year will be the last complete tax year before the date of application for EMA.

Parents or carers who have not applied for a TCAN should apply for one. Contact your local HM Revenue and Customs office on 0845 302 1456 for further details.

Q: What if my parents/carers do not have a TCAN?

A: Applicants who cannot provide a TCAN, which shows a household figure for the relevant tax year, will be asked to provide alternative income evidence for that tax year – i.e. a P60.

Q: How will I receive my EMA?
A: Payments will be made directly into your bank account. No payments will be made by cash or cheque.

Q: Does the EMA affect my family’s/my other benefits?
A: No. It is specifically designed at helping families overcome the financial burden of supporting young people in further education. It is therefore paid in addition to other support provided by the Government such as the new Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Receiving EMA will not affect Child Benefit.

Q: Is EMA the only financial support available for 16-19 year olds who stay on in further education?
A: No. You may also benefit from the Learner Support Funds. Unlike the EMA, this is not a weekly allowance but it does provide financial help via a system of one-off payments for young people with particular needs such as help with the costs of books and equipment, or travel to and from their learning centre.

7. STILL UNDECIDED ABOUT YOUR FUTURE?

What? What do you mean you’re still not convinced?

                               Click here to visit the EMA website

8. WHAT DO OTHER EMA STUDENTS THINK?

Many other students have already gone through the decision-making process you’re currently going through. Read a couple of views from other students below and see how it’s helped them achieve their goals. Maybe their accounts will answer some of the many questions you, and your parents, might have:

Becky Kift, Wyke College

Becky Kift is now in the first year of a Chemistry Degree at Hull University. She is full of praise for the value of EMAs:

“It was a great help for me. It enabled me to get through college for a year and a half without having to get a job. It was only in the last few months that I got a job when I realised that my EMA was coming to an end.

“EMA gives you the incentive to go to lessons. For example, General Studies was timetabled but not part of my requirement for university. In that sense it was not important so I could have skipped some of the classes. In order to receive my EMA, I made sure I attended. Other friends on EMA took a similar view, irrespective of their motivation or subjects they were studying.

“Most of my EMA was spent on buying books and stationery but I did hear of one friend who said she spent some of hers on a driving lesson. I was planning to stay on anyway, but without the EMA life would have been more difficult.

It seems that the threat of payment being withheld is what makes the real difference, and Becky feels the system for making the payment was fair: “It should make you go to your lessons, although exceptions should exist for genuine reasons of non-attendance. I certainly missed it during the holidays!”

Damien Garwell, Wyke College

Damien Garwell is now realising a dream by studying medicine at Hull University. After achieving his required A-level grades from Wyke College, he is now embarking on what he hopes will be a very fulfilling career.

“I was intending to stay on anyway, but the EMA enabled me to concentrate fully on my studies. Without the weekly income from EMA I would have had to take a part-time job.”

A number of Damien’s friends made sure they attended all lessons when perhaps they might not have done: “Although I probably would have attended all lessons anyway, some of my mates turned up at times when perhaps they may have preferred not to.

“You come to rely on the money, so you make certain that you don’t miss out on it.

Damien also says the EMA amount was more than adequate: “My parents have a low income, so it was great not to have to rely on them. Most of the money went on day-to-day living on things like dinner money and revision guides. Very occasionally there might be a bit spare and I could afford to buy a CD.

“I was on the maximum level but even those who did not receive the maximum thought it was well worth having.”

The bonuses were also much appreciated. At £50 per term in this particular pilot, they will be even more generous when the scheme goes national.

Damien concluded: “Money can only encourage you so much, but at the end of the day, EMA is a really good system and it helps a lot of people. Even if students do some part time work, with EMA they still are in a position to concentrate on their studies.

“I’m really pleased to hear that EMA will be available throughout the country soon.”

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