Grants and Allowances

If you’re a full-time student in higher education and an adult depends on you financially, you can apply for an Adult Dependants’ Grant of up to:

• £3,354 for the 2023 to 2024 academic year
• £3,263 for the 2022 to 2023 academic year

Eligibility

Usually, the adult dependant will be:

• your husband, wife, partner or civil partner
• a relative, such as a parent or a grandparent

If you’re under 25, the adult dependant cannot be your partner unless you’re married or in a civil partnership.

You’re not eligible if the adult dependant is:

• your child
• a relative who earns more than £3,796 a year
• getting student finance

The Adult Dependant grant will affect any income-related benefits and tax credits you receive. (See more information here - How will my government-funded benefits be affected by becoming a student).

This does not need to be paid back unless you withdraw from the course or intermit within the semester.

Starting from the 2019/20 academic year, the Childcare Grant will no longer be paid directly to the student, but directly to the childcare provider to prevent any under/overpayments within the academic year.

The childcare provider (must be Ofsted Early Years Register or General Childcare Register) will be paid quarterly by Student Finance depending on the start date of the course. You would need to ensure you register with the Childcare Provider Service before they can get in contact with you in regards to the Childcare Grant.

You can get up to 85% of your childcare costs. However, any remaining childcare costs will have to be paid by the student.

For the 2023/24 academic year

• up to £188.90 a week for one child
• up to £323.85 a week for two or more children

For the 2022/23 academic year the maximum a student can receive is:

• up to £183.75 a week for one child, or up to 85% of their costs (whichever is less)
• up to £315.03 a week for two or more children, or up to 85% of their costs (whichever is less)

For the 2021/22 academic year the maximum a student can receive is:

• up to £179.62 a week for one child, or up to 85% of their costs (whichever is less)
• up to £307.95 a week for two or more children, or up to 85% of their costs (whichever is less)

Eligibility

• The child must be under 15 or under 17 if they have special educational needs
• Permanent resident in England
• The child is financially dependent on the student
• The child is cared for at home and not cared for by a relative

 The Childcare Grant won’t affect any income-related benefits, but students should not be recipients of the following at the same of receiving the Childcare grant:

• Childcare Element of the Working Tax Credit
• Childcare Element Universal Credit
• HMRC tax-free childcare
• NHS-funded childcare grants

If you decide to apply for the Childcare Grant at a later date, please complete the form here.

If you have a disability we encourage you to get in touch during your application process so we can discuss what support we can offer you.

Our Disability and inclusion Team offers information, advice and support to students with disabilities, including mental health difficulties, ongoing medical conditions and specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia.

If you wish to discuss this further, please contact the Disability and Inclusion Team on disabilityandinclusion@london.aru.ac.uk or attend one of our drop in sessions.

We may be able to assist you with special arrangements for your lectures and for your examinations.

You may also find you're eligible for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), which can be used for equipment and support to help you to complete your course.

These grants help to pay the essential extra costs you may have as a direct result of your disability including a medical/mental-health condition, and/or specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyspraxia.

Take a look at the DSA website for more information, or contact us if you'd like to talk it over. If a student requires any special equipment such as a laptop or computer, a contribution of up to £200 is required from the student.

The Parents’ Learning Allowance is additional funding to help students who are also parents. This is used for study materials, books and travel.

The maximum Parents’ Learning Allowance is:

• 2023/24 - £1,915 per academic year
• 2022/23 – £1,863 per academic year

This is usually paid together with your Maintenance Loan and any additional grants you have applied for in three instalments.

Parents who live together and who are both students can both apply for Parents’ Learning Allowance for the same child. The Parents’ Learning Allowance is only available for undergraduates.

The Postgraduate Disabled Students’ Allowance is used to help students pay the extra essential cost they might due to a disability or a long-term illness.

Postgraduate students can get a single allowance of up to £26,291 a year for 2023 to 2024 academic year or up to £25,575 for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.

Eligibility

• Be a postgraduate student
• Have a condition affecting your ability to study
• Must qualify for Student Finance
• Must be on a course that lasts for at least a year (full-time) or must be on a course that’s twice as long as a full-time equivalent 9 (part-time)

This allowance does not need to be paid back unless you leave the course early. If a student previously had a DSA allowance for any special equipment from a previous course, this will be considered.

You’re not eligible if the postgraduate disabled student allowance if you’re:

• An EU student
• Eligible for an NHS Disabled Students’ Allowance (separate scheme)
• Getting equivalent support from another funding source, such as a social work bursary.

The amount you can get through the Special Support Grant is the same as what’s available through the Maintenance Grant. It doesn’t affect your Maintenance Loan and doesn’t have to be paid back.

If you started your course between 1^st September 2012 and 31^st July 2016, the full grant available is:

• 2023/24 - £4,121 for the academic year
• 2022/23 - £4,009 for the academic year

You could be eligible for a Special Support Grant if you:

• Are a lone (single) parent who is responsible for a child or person under 20 who is in full-time education.
• Have a partner who is also a student and one or both of you are responsible for a child or young person under 20 who is in full-time education below the higher education level
• Have a disability and qualify for the Disability Premium or Severe Disability Premium
• Are deaf and qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowances
• Have been treated as incapable of work for at least 28 weeks
• Have a disability and qualify for income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Are from outside the UK and are entitled to an Income Support Urgent Cases Payment because you’re temporarily without any money for up to six weeks
• Are waiting to go back to a course after an agreed time out due to an illness or caring responsibility that has now ended
• Entitled to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Armed Force Independence Payment (AFIP)
• Are aged 60 or older
• Are studying at Undergraduate level

The Special Support Grant doesn’t need to be counted as income when you work out your entitlement to income-related benefits or tax credits.