Financial Support at Stella Mann College

All bursaries below, apart from the hardship fund, will be taken out of the additional fee payable directly to Stella Mann College, invoiced on a termly basis, to access all areas of training that fall outside the provision of the Degree Course, and is therefore a form of

payment in kind. The scholarship that covers this additional fee for all male students will be deemed to already satisfy this payment in kind, therefore no further bursary will be granted up to the amount of this scholarship, currently £4,275 per year. This reduction will be applied to invoices generated for the second and third terms following the application period, so that the up-front costs of the full course are reduced each term, thus making the course more accessible for any eligible student.

• Any student who falls into either or both of the following categories – household income below £25,000 or a home postcode in the IMD Deciles 1 to 4 – will receive a bursary of £500 in their first year of training and £400 in their second and third year. Multiple bursaries would not be granted for eligibility in both of these areas as the nature of the access issue is likely to be the same, but students qualifying under any of the additional areas below would receive further bursaries as these qualifying factors may be deemed to present further barriers to study.
• Proof of household income is taken from the information you have already submitted to Student Finance to apply for any maintenance due. We cannot accept any alternative proof of household income, or any changes to the household income since this information was submitted to Student Finance. If, however, household income changes throughout the course, you can be reassessed on an annual basis for maintenance by Student Finance and this new figure will be taken into account for this bursary too. You can check whether your home postcode (not student accommodation postcode) is in Deciles 1 to 4 by entering it into this search.
• Any GEM (Global Ethnic Majority) student will receive a bursary of £500 in their first year of training and £400 in their second and third year.
• People of the Global Ethnic Majority are defined as: ‘People who are Black, Asian, dual-heritage or indigenous to the global south’.
• Disability Bursary – due to the nature of the course, the learning support given within the course, lack of assessment events such as timed exams, and the ability of HE students to access up to £26,000 in DSA grants for declared and formally diagnosed disabilities, the College will grant a one-off bursary of £350 in the student’s first year of training to help them to access the DSA assessment and to set them up with equipment they may need before DSA payments are made. Any student with evidence of an NHS-diagnosed Special Educational Need, such as Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyspraxia, Irlen’s Syndrome, or an NHS-diagnosed physical disability such as a visual or hearing impairment will be considered for this bursary.
• Please note the specific disabilities or special educational needs that are cited above, and particularly the requirement for an NHS diagnosis of this condition, in order to be eligible for this bursary. This cannot be self-diagnosed, or informally diagnosed by any organisation other than the NHS.
• Care Leaver Bursary – any student from a care background (being able to prove that they have been in care, or under a care order for a period of 13 weeks since the age of 14), or who have lived in a Foyer, or other homeless project – will receive a bursary of £500 in their first year of training and £400 in their second and third year.
• Please note the need to proof that you have been in this form of care as stated above.
• Standalone Bursary – any student who is estranged from their families, under the age of 25, and must financially support themselves, will receive a bursary of £500 in their first year of training and £400 in their second and third year.
• 7Please note that this bursary can only be granted to students who are totally estranged from their families – this does not simply mean that families do not financially support students during term time with student accommodation or tuition fees, but that there is also no financial support or contact with the family outside term time, such as living with any family members for any length of time in college breaks.
• Carers Bursary – any student with caring responsibilities can apply for a bursary of up to £500 per year depending on the level of care provided. Funds could cover costs such as travel expenses incurred due to caring responsibilities, but each case will be assessed separately.
• To be eligible for this bursary, students must be able to show evidence of the level of their caring responsibilities, and the specific financial implications that are incurred specifically due to these caring responsibilities, and any bursary will be calculated on the basis of the level of these financial implications.
• Access to Financial Assistance Fund (FAF) – the College will maintain a hardship fund throughout the academic year. Students coming from a background with household income of under £25,000 can apply for sums up to a total of £500 per academic year to pay for costs associated specifically with the degree course, depending on evidence of need. This will be assessed according to the College’s means-testing system.
• Please note that this hardship fund can only cover costs specifically related to the Degree course, and any costs incurred through non-assessed events such as the Summer Show, external events such as Move It or any part of the Stella Mann College Diploma course that lie outside the Degree course are not applicable.
• All Degree students can access financial guidance – any student requiring advice about student finance and budgeting can access this from the College Principal, Course Leader, and Financial Manager.

Applications for the Financial Assistance (hardship) Fund can be made throughout the year and will be assessed on a continuous basis

For all these bursaries (excluding access to the hardship fund), students must apply by the end of October. Any late applications will not be considered until the following academic year.