Supporting Care Leavers Estranged students apply for student

Supporting Care Leavers & Estranged students apply for student loans CLPP 5 th November 2020 • Charmaine Valente • Funding Information Team • Student Loans Company

Who are the Student Loans Company? Student Loans Company (SLC) is a not -for-profit, government-owned organization, set up in 1989 to provide loans and grants to students in universities and colleges in the UK. SLC works with the following to provide student support in the UK: Student Finance England (SFE) Student Finance Wales (SFW) Student Finance Norther Ireland (SFNI) Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)

Definition of a Care Leaver for U/G funding A Care Leaver for Student Finance purposes is defined as: “A student looked after by a local authority throughout any 3 -month period ending on or after the date on which the student reached the age of 16 and before the first day of the first academic year of the course provided that the student has not in fact at any time during the relevant period been under the charge or control of the student's parents. ”

Student Finance England - General Eligibility 2021/22 Students need to meet certain residency criteria in order to be eligible for financial support from SFE: • Have settled status – Can live in the UK without any Home Office restriction • Be ordinarily resident in England on the first day of the first academic year of their course • Been living in the UK for the three years immediately prior to this date • You may also be eligible to apply for SFE support if you have a residency status such as Refugee, Stateless or Humanitarian Protection • From AY 21/22, rules for EU/EEA nationals studying in the UK will change www. gov. uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students • Go to www. gov. uk/student-finance/who-qualifies for more information

New Year, New Policies…What do we know? 5

New Policies for 2021 (EU Nationals - all TBC) Brexit – work currently ongoing. More in depth updates, resources and news once available • EU/EEA National will have to have been UK resident before December 31 st 2020 to gain Citizens Rights and apply for and receive a status (Settled or Pre-Settled) through the EU Settlement Scheme prior to July 2021 • Settled Status will be classed as indefinite leave to remain, pre-settled is limited leave to remain • Remember, students have been guaranteed funding under existing regulations for AY 20/21, including those students that will start in January 2021 or April 2021 (still AY 20/21). • Students that arrive in UK after 31 st December deadline will be subject to overseas fees and new points based immigration system • Ongoing work between Policy Teams, Df. E to understand the application process, evidence requirements and cases involving family members. More external promotion nearer the end of the year. www. gov. uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students

New Policies for 2021/22 (Rest of the World Nationals - all TBC) Residency Category Ordinary Residence Support Available Rest of World Nationals Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain 3 Years UK Full SFE Support Refugee ILR Domestic Violence ILR as a Bereaved Partner N/A (Maintained UK residence since status awarded) Full SFE Support Humanitarian Protection Stateless Persons Section 67 Leave Calais Leave Long Residency N/A (Maintained UK residence since status awarded as with Refugee) Full SFE Support Replaces previous 3 Years UK rule Under 18: 7 Years UK Over 18: Half life or 20 Yrs UK (To include 3 Years Ordinary Lawful Residency) Full SFE Support

TUITION FEES AND LOANS ENGLAND AN OVERVIEW With tuition fees of up to £ 9, 250, how can you afford to go to university? • Eligible students won’t have to pay any tuition fees up front. • A Tuition Fee Loan is available to cover the fee charged by your university or college. * • A Tuition Fee Loan doesn’t depend on household income. • SFE pay the Tuition Fee Loan directly to your university or college. • Tuition Fee Loans have to be repaid but only when you’ve finished or left your course and your income is over the repayment threshold. i *Up to £ 9, 250 for full-time courses at a publicly-funded uni or college or up to £ 6, 165 for approved courses at private providers.

MAINTENANCE LOAN AN OVERVIEW • A Maintenance Loan is available to help with your living costs while at university or college. • All eligible students can get some maintenance support. • The amount a student can get depends on where they live and study. • You can also apply for the maximum funding if you’re a Care Leaver • The Maintenance Loan is paid directly into the student’s bank account each term. • Maintenance Loans have to be repaid but not until they’ve finished or left their course and their income is over the repayment threshold.

MAINTENANCE SUPPORT MAINTENANCE LOAN ENTITLEMENT 2016 cohort FT students, not eligible for benefits or aged over 60, for 2021/22 £ £ 9, 488 Elsewhere Rate: Live and study away from home outside London Rate: Live and study away from home in London £ 12, 383 Overseas Rate: Studying Abroad as part of a UK course £ £ 10, 866 Care leavers are for student finance purposes deemed as Independent and receive the maximum loan

Applying for Student Finance https: //www. gov. uk/student-finance-registerlogin Apply online Students will need to create a student finance account if they're a new student or sign into an existing account if they're a returning student. It can take up to 6 weeks to process your application. Care Leavers need their Social Workers to confirm they meet the SFE Care Leaver definition and may need to provide more evidence of residency Get ready – Student will need : • British Passport (need the number and it must be in date) • National Number • A UK Bank Account • To know when Student Finance England Launch their application process & when do you need to get the application and all documentations in to them by? • Dates ?

Application form questions for Student Finance

ESTRANGEMENT Social workers may be contacted for advice and guidance when a child has become estranged from their parents.

Who is an Estranged Student? q. An Estranged Student is defined by SLC as: A student who has limited/sporadic or no contact with either of their biological/legally adopted parents. Therefore they do not maintain what SLC would consider as a functioning relationship. This includes living away from parents and receiving no emotional or financial support. q SLC should as far as possible, satisfy themselves that the estrangement and students circumstances are genuine and that reconciliation in the future is highly unlikely if not impossible.

Dedicated Estrangement Assessors • SLC has introduced a processes for estranged students, which means that there are designated Estrangement Assessors allocated to support this unique demographic of Independent students. • This enhancement has been specifically targeted for those students who are viewed as being in a more vulnerable position and find it difficult to obtain evidence from a valid 3 rd party source.

New Estrangement form https: //media. slc. co. uk/sfe/2021/ft/sfe_ confirmation_of_estrangement_form_20 21_o. pdf Estrangement Form - No need to know the student prior to completing - Do need to be satisfied the student is estranged - SFE will accept a non wet signature on the form if it is sent to us from an ac. uk email address

Charities and other support • • • Stand Alone PROPEL The Become Trust Brightside NNECL The Care Leaver Associations http: //standalone. org. uk/ http: //propel. org. uk http: //www. becomecharity. org. uk http: //www. thebrightsidetrust. org http: //www. nnecl. org http: //www. careleavers. com Before and when at university Student Financial Advisers are there to support you and they are usually based within Student Services or the Student Unions • Student Finance _All Domiciles https: //www. thestudentroom. co. uk

DSA SUPPORT

DSA SUPPORT DISABLED STUDENTS ALLOWANCES (DSAs) Disabled Students’ Allowances provide help towards the additional costs a student may face as result of their disability, long-term health condition, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty: DSAs Support: • Is available in addition to the standard student finance package, • Does not have to be repaid, • Is not affected by household income, Introduction of Digital Evidence Upload – the ability for students to upload evidence directly through the Online Application Portal • Looks at the specific needs of the individual student For DSA applications you will need to provide supporting evidence from a doctor or other relevant specialist

THE ADVANCED LEARNER LOAN Further Education

• Learners must satisfy certain criteria in order to be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan: LEARNER ELIGIBILITY • Study an approved learning aim at an approved Learning Provider in England • Be aged 19+ on the first day of their learning aim • Not have exceeded the maximum amount of Advanced Learner Loans available • Meet the required residency criteria to be eligible as e. g. refugee status etc. ,

APPLICATION OVERVIEW Various forms may be required to aid successful completion of Advanced Learner Loan applications: • UK Passport Form Birth/ADIF Form • Evidence Return Form Loan Request Form (Change Amount) Migrant Workers: Nb/ this policy will be changing for 2021/2 A/Y (BREXIT) • UK Employment Status Form - Issued by SLC as applications suggest applicable Application Declaration: • Df. E Declaration Form - Can be downloaded from a Learners’ ‘My Account’ Follow up with learners to ensure they are returning their Declarations in good time

HOW DO YOU REPAY? STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS AN OVERVIEW You won’t make repayments until your future income is over £ 26, 575 a year (gross) or the monthly £ 2, 214 or £ 511 a week. Advanced Learner Loans Access Course loans will be wiped clean upon completion of a BA • If you study full-time, you will be due to start repaying in the April after completing or leaving/withdrawing from your course* • You’ll repay 9% of any income earned over £ 26, 575 and if employed, deductions will be made from your pay through the HMRC tax system • If your income falls to £ 26, 575 or below your repayments will stop • Thresholds rising to £ 27, 295 from 6 th April 2021 i *Any outstanding loan balance will be written off 30 years after entering repayment

REPAYMENT OVERVIEW (U/G & Advanced Learner Loans) Income linked ICR Plan 2 interest rates with £ 26, 575 repayment threshold: During study until entering repayment i % Retail Prices Index +3% Income: Under £ 26, 575 % Interest rate is: Index Retail Prices Set at RPI Only Income: £ 26, 575 to £ 47, 835 % Retail Prices Index + Up to 3% Income: Over £ 47, 835 % Retail Prices Index +3% The interest rate is updated once a year using the RPI figure from March which is carried forward and applied in September

What repayments will students make?

Resources and Support Tools www. practitioners. slc. co. uk – policy and guidance support www. thestudentroom. co. uk – students/parents resources www. gov. uk/slc - online updates for CV 19 related issues for new, continuing and repayment students www. youtube. com/SFE - suite of films www. facebook. com/SFEngland www. twitter. com/SF_England Get Ready for Payment – Campaign Page Student Finance Page New Online Repayment Platform – with real time updates from HMRC using MFDS

SUPPORT AND CONTACT INFORMATION Perhaps the most effective ‘resource’ available to providers is their Funding Information Services Account Manager: • Our team works to establish and manage relationships with key contacts from across the HE and FE sectors to deliver the right student finance messages at the right time • Examples of the support we can offer includes tailored practitioner training sessions and targeted remote updates based on the information needs of the audience • Along with the FE & HE Account Managers our joint aim is to ensure providers have access to the support they need to successfully administer and promote Advanced Learner Loans • Remember, we are a resource for our partners, so please do make use of our service i Go to the FI Services Support section of our Practitioners Website for details of which areas of England Wales each team member covers

To discuss potential staff update sessions, event support, student finance policy matters or just to register for our updates, please get in touch: Charmaine Valente South East England (including South London, Berkshire, Hampshire & Io. W, Wiltshire and Dorset) Lead Areas: Vulnerable Students and Study Abroad • 0777 4281 355 • charmaine_valente@slc. co. uk Online Feedback: https: //www. tellslc. co. uk/c/a/5 b 2 Wd. Ym 0 Mcz 4 XJqfpk. I 5 IP