The Government has made a commitment to widening education
participation and improving achievement for pupils staying on at
school after statutory school age. Additional funds have been made
available to the City of London to pass on to parents and pupils to
help in meeting financial difficulty, via the Discretionary Learner
Support Fund (dLSF). Support is targeted at pupils from less
well-off families. We hope this will provide an incentive for those
least likely to stay on at school after the age of 16.
Please note: Students should exercise their
entitlement to other forms of financial support before eligibility
for dLSF is considered, such as Education Maintenance Allowance. However,
receipt of other forms of learner support is neither a
pre-condition, nor an exclusion factor, for the receipt of dLSF
What support is available?
The City of London has agreed a number of areas where financial
support is available:
Interviews at university / college of higher
education
The City of London will make a financial contribution to the
cost of travel of up to three entrance interviews if your child is
proposing to take a higher education course, eg Degree, BTEC HND,
or Diploma in Higher Education.
Travel must be by second class public transport using the most
cost effective route. Support is available to families on low
income, ie in receipt of Income Support / Jobseeker’s Allowance,
Working Families Tax Credit, State Retirement Pension (sole source
of income), Invalidity Benefit (sole source of income). Evidence of
this must be supplied at the time of application.
The City of London Adult & Community Learning Service will
also contribute to the purchasing of clothing appropriate to the
interview, where families cannot meet the cost of this themselves.
Families must be on low income as defined above.
Field trips
The City of London Adult & Community Learning Service will
pay for the cost of a field trip (including overseas visits) where
this is an integral part of a relevant course for any pupil
experiencing financial difficulty, subject to a letter of request
to the Head of Adult & Community Learning from the school’s
headteacher. Each case will be treated on merit.
Other costs
The City of London Adult & Community Learning Service will
consider offering financial support under an ‘exceptional costs’
category, subject to a request to the Head of Adult & Community
Learning supported by the school’s headteacher.
How do I apply?
You can make a request for an application form to be sent to you
by telephoning us on 020 7332 3928 or by downloading the
form below
Download the Learner Support Fund application
form here (96kb)
For those calling in person, the address for the City of London
Adult & Community Learning Service is: 4th Floor, 15 Half Moon
Court, Bartholomew Close, London EC1A 7HF.
The office is open Monday to Friday from 9.15am to 5.00pm.
Note
When making an application, independent documentary evidence may
be required confirming your address and the school your child
attends or will be attending.