Students studying social work in Northern Ireland can apply for the Department of Health’s Student Incentive Scheme of ?4,000 per year, plus ?500 towards travel while on placement.
Study abroad
If you study abroad for between one term and one year as part of your course, you can still apply for student loan finance during this time. It’s also worth looking for financial support from university scholarships or student bursaries
- READ MORE
- NHS bursaries
- How to become a teacher (undergraduates)
- How to become a teacher (postgraduates)
- The Turing Scheme
Travel grant
For full-time students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the travel grant gives financial help for study abroad, or with UK-based clinical placements for medical and dental students in the years they don’t receive an NHS bursary.
The travel grant doesn’t apply to clinical placements for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Instead, students who receive funding support (such as the NHS Learning Support Fund in England) can claim some of their placement expenses back via their scheme.
Study abroad includes studying at an overseas university as part of your course. The grant can cover eligible expenses including travel, visas, vaccinations and medical insurance. It can be used to support the travel costs of students going overseas with the Turing Scheme if they don’t qualify for the scheme’s support.
You must be a full-time undergraduate student receiving means-tested student finance. Overseas study must be for at least half of each academic term. Clinical placements must be a requirement of your course and you won’t qualify if you’re eligible for other funding (such as an NHS bursary). If you’ve studied at this level before, you might not be eligible for funding.
How much financial support could you get?
You pay the costs yourself up front and must keep receipts as evidence of your spending. You can then claim the money back. The amount you get back depends on your household income, and you’ll need to cover c.?303?309 of the year’s cost yourself. If you’re from Wales, you’re expected to pay the first ?1,000 if your household income is over ?59,200. You won’t need to pay the grant back unless you’ve been overpaid, or you leave your course early.
Students from Scotland
You can also get financial help with travel expenses for travel abroad. This must be a compulsory part of your course, and not a paid placement. You can claim the cost of your journey and medical insurance. The financial support you get doesn’t depend on your household income although if you do have a low household income and are going overseas with the Turing Scheme, you me. You must update the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) about studying abroad when applying for student finance, and you’ll be sent a claims form.
If you’re on an Allied Health Profession (AHP) course, you can claim travel expenses when on clinical placement. AHP placements must be in Scotland. If you receive the Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary, this allows ?5 for daily travel. You can claim expenses when your clinical placement costs are higher than this, using the cheapest form of public transport.
You may be considered an ‘independent student’ if you’ve earned a living for three years, or are irreconcilably estranged from your parents. Care leavers may be considered as independent students. Being ‘estranged’ is different from your parents not being willing or able to support you financially. If you say you’re estranged and are in touch with your parents at all, you stand to lose a lot. The charity Stand Alone provides information on financial support for independent students.
When applying, you’ll need to provide evidence of your eligibility. You’ll be told if you need to attend a study assessment centre to identify your support needs. You don’t need to reapply each year if you’re getting a student loan and continuing on the same course, but you need to reapply if you changed or stopped your course, repeat a year or change from full-time to part-time study. You’ll also need to reapply if you didn’t take out a maintenance or tuition fee loan.
You can get financial help for up to 85% of your childcare costs (up to a capped amount) but you may get less, depending on your income. You’ll need to use a registered or approved childcare provider who isn’t a relative. If you haven’t arranged childcare yet you can estimate costs but provide the actual costs as soon as you can, otherwise you ount you get will depend on your household income, whether you get other government grants and how many children you’re claiming for. If you get other help for childcare costs (such as childcare benefits or an NHS bursary) this may affect your claim.
In Wales, undergraduate students could get ?2,500 per year, plus a practice learning opportunity allowance’ towards your expenses if you get this bursary. Your uni will nominate a selection of students, who can then apply online but this doesn’t mean you’ll be successful online Brick payday loan. To get the bursary, you must first register as a student social worker with Social Care Wales. Your first application for financial support must be in the first year of your course. If successful, you’ll need to reapply each year. The money is paid by instalments once your uni confirms your attendance.