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ESFA Young People Funding Guidance for 21/22. Paragraph 16a;
tuition fees cannot be charged to students aged 16 to 18 in full time or part time
education by either ESFA-funded institutions or their subcontractors. For the
purposes of the funding agreement and this document, ‘18’, means under 19
on 31 August in the teaching year when the student commences a study
programme
16-18 guidance: Age
- A 16 to 18-year-old student is a student who is aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August 2021. Such students are normally eligible for ESFA young people’s funding, subject to the other regulations in this guidance.
- To maintain eligibility for funding for individual students during a learning programme, a wider definition is used by the funding bodies. A student who was aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August at the start of the funding year when they began a learning programme, as recorded on their learning agreement, continues to be funded as a 16 to 18-year-old student. If they become 19 years old during their learning programme such students are funded at 16 to 18 rates to complete their learning programmes.
AEB Guidance: Age
- The age of the learner on 31 August in the funding year determines whether the learner is funded through ESFA’s AEB funding methodology (for individuals aged 19 and over), or the 16 to 19-year-olds funding methodology (for individuals aged 16 to 19 and those aged 19 to 24 with an education health and care plan).
I would agree the guidance for 16-18 is unclear due to the ‘when they began a learning programme’ but it does beg the question why they are starting a study programme mid-year, but the AEB guidance does indicate they should be funded by the 16 to 19-year-olds funding methodology.
HTH
As someone who works with quite a lot of learners who join programmes mid-year (for very good reasons!), I can confirm it's their age on 31 August that defines how old they are, so even if their birthday is 3 September, they're still 18 and eligible for Study Prog funding for the whole of that academic year.
Katie Hodges
Study Programme Age Query
Created
Good morning,
I have had a query come through and unsure of the answer, If a student turns 19 during the start of the academic year, but after the 1st September, and they want to enrol in the middle of the academic year, are they eligible? If a student is 18 at the start of the academic year, are the eligible even if they turn 19 before their start date?