Check with student services at your college or sixth form to see what financial help is available to you. This can include lunch vouchers, bus pass, 16-18 bursary, and help with childcare costs. You should not have to pay exam or enrolment fees for your first level 1 or level 2 qualifications. If you are being asked for money for your course, contact your social worker/personal adviser.

If you are in full-time education or training you will be eligible for the 16 -18 Bursary. For Cambridgeshire and Peterborough colleges we offer a unique extended bursary that supports care leavers in further education up to the age of 22. To find out more and to see if your college offers the extended bursary, please visit the Looked After Child/Care Leaver section of your colleges website, or contact your college directly.
To help you get to and from college, we can sometimes provide additional funding for a bicycle, helmet, lock, and lights in certain circumstances.
You may be eligible for educational transport. Please see more options for Post 16 Transportation
We can refer you for support with Right Resolution CiC. Right Resolution CIC is a Northamptonshire & Peterborough based organisation supporting young people (16-24) leaving care on their individual needs to ensure that each young person’s progress is specific, purposeful and unique to their aspirations.
If you are caring for your own child or children and you are under 20, you could get help with childcare. The Care to Learn scheme can help you fund childcare while you are studying. If you are at college and your baby is due before the end of the course talk to your tutors.

The Council’s ‘Virtual School’ continues to support young people up to eighteen. If you turn 18 during the academic year, the Virtual School will continue to support you throughout that year. Your Personal Adviser can also provide support and advice.

If you are on a course, you will have support from your college or sixth form tutor and/or a progress coach. (We offer training to providers of post-16 education so that they understand the best ways to support looked after children and care leavers.) Your progress is monitored through your Personal Education Plan (PEP). You will be able to say what you like, or don’t enjoy about your course. You will be involved in setting targets and making plans for the future.

If you have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or SEND support in school this will be reviewed once a year.
If you are an unaccompanied asylum seeker, we will work closely with our local colleges to ensure you can access education appropriate to your literacy and numeracy levels. You will get help to apply for an appropriate course. Your Personal Adviser will explain your options, and how our education system works.