Welfare & Financial Information
If you are under 19 when you start your course, you will not be charged tuition fees. We will lend you textbooks and equipment without charge. We do not provide stationery.
Art, Mixed Media, Photography and Media Studies and Drama and Performing Arts, make a charge at the start of your course for materials which you will keep. Also if you are studying CACHE L3 (Early Years) and Health and Social Care L3 Double, you will need to pay for a DBS check.
For further information about the course materials costs, Course Costs for Academic Year 2023/24.
Financial Assistance for 16-18 year olds
Each year the College receives an allocation of funds to support its Learners aged 16-18. Learners who are 18 at the start of the course but turn 19 during the academic year (i.e. after 31st August) are also eligible. The government has also extended its Free School Meals programme to Sixth Form and FE colleges. These funds are intended to support students who face financial barriers to participation in education.
The Discretionary Learning Grant is a fixed allocation of money from the government. The College is responsible for determining the eligibility of applicants to this fund and for deciding the amount each student should receive. The College will aim to distribute the funds fairly with regard to the needs of the individual student. This fund is Means tested and the threshold is a household income below £30,000 or where financial circumstances have changed significantly during the year.
There are three categories of support:
1. Vulnerable Bursary
You can apply to this fund if one or more of the following apply to you.
- In Care or Care Leavers
- Live independently and are in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit
- Receive Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own right as well as Employment Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right
- In receipt of a Child Protection Plan
2. Free College Meals
You can apply to this fund if your parents/guardians are in receipt of one or more of the following.
- Income Support or Universal Credit (where the household income is less than £7,400)
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit element and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (Paid for 4 weeks after someone stops qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
- Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act
3. Discretionary Learning Grant
You can apply to this fund if your parents/guardians are in receipt of one or more of the following.
- Universal Credit (where the household income is more than £7,400)
- Child and Working Tax credit (where the household income is less than £30,000)
- Household income is less than £30,000
- The family financial and/or personal circumstances have recently changed
The amount awarded will be dependent on both household income and educational need and will take into account costs incurred in attending college and costs incurred by following a particular course. Assistance may be given for such items as travel and art material fees.
We assess each application and will award in the first instance:
- Travel: to those students who live 2 miles or more away from college. For students who live under 2 miles away we may consider an award if there are exceptional or medical circumstances which will be treated on a case by case basis.
- Art Material Fees: if applicable
- Free College Meals: if applicable
- DBS Checks: if applicable
All students will need to have their own bank account and those living within the Brighton & Hove area wanting assistance with travel will need to have a Bus Key Card.
Important Information
- Learners will not necessarily receive assistance with any/or all of the funds for which they apply. We are given a limited amount of money and the demand from students may be high. The College will use priority groupings to award discretionary grants in line with government guidelines.
- Although you can apply throughout the academic year, funds are limited so completed applications should be submitted as early as possible.
- Please note that for applications received in September, if travel is approved, it will not be paid until mid October and Bus keycards not topped up until end of September. If you are experiencing difficulties getting into college, please get in touch with Daniela Sramova, Welfare Officer at welfare@varndean.ac.uk.
Please fill out and submit the form reading each section carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria and are eligible to apply for the fund. The information shared on this form will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
Childcare Cost Support for 16-19 year olds
If you need help with paying for childcare and you are aged between 16-19 years old, you can apply to Care to Learn. For further details and how to apply see here.
Welfare Services
We have a welfare service which is run on a drop-in basis where students can see the Welfare Officer Daniela Sramova at lunchtimes Monday-Friday in the tutorial block (Office Room 65) during term-time only.
Our welfare service offers our students a space where they can get advice and support with various practical matters that may include:
- Money Worries & Financial Support at College (Discretionary Learning Grants, Free College Meals & Bursary Grants)
- Childcare cost entitlement for students who are parents (Care to Learn)
- Travel information, allowances & discount schemes information
- Benefits Information and referrals to YAC (Brighton Young Advice Centre)
- Housing Information and referrals to YAC (Brighton Young Advice Centre)
- Young Carers Information, Support (including Support Groups) & referrals to Young Carers Centres (Brighton & Hove Young Carers Centre)
- Educational Trusts
- Filling in claim forms & College letters
- Sexual health matters and referrals to SHAC (Brighton & Hove Sexual Health & Contraceptual Service)
- C-Card Scheme (Free Condoms Pick up Point including STIs self-testing kits and Pregnancy Tests)
- Signposting to College and Brighton & Hove Support Services
- Any other worries/matters
College Fund
Through its College Fund, Varndean College is able to provide a broad range of social and recreational extras across the curriculum which are not covered by public funding, but which make the college experience more vibrant and rewarding. The College Fund allows us, for example, to continue to support our wide range of enrichment activities and expand the opportunities we offer. These currently include sporting and musical activities, a creative writing group, societies for Politics and Film Studies, as well as a host of other guest speakers. We also use the fund to provide transport to sporting fixtures and local trips. The fund allows us to encourage students to participate fully in the activities we offer and to provide many of them free of charge.
To maintain the fund so that we can continue to provide these opportunities, we ask for a contribution of £40 per student upon enrolling. We are very grateful for all the contributions we receive. And If you are a UK taxpayer you can make your contribution worth 25% more to us at no extra cost by completing the Gift Aid declaration.
In the event of an unexpected event that causes hardship ie. redundancy or an accident, please see or email the Welfare Officer who can offer advice on emergency funding.
If you have any queries
Welfare Officer (Daniela Sramova) – welfare@varndean.ac.uk or on 01273 508011 ext. 110 in term-time only
Financial Support Team – financialsupport@varndean.ac.uk or on 01273 546636