Explore your options
If you have children or support a dependent adult, you could get extra financial support while you study.
Take a look at the summary below. If you’d like us to put together a financial statement of the support available to you, contact our Student Finance Centre.
Student finance for full-time students with dependants
If you’re a full-time student from England and have a dependent child or adult, you could get the following extra funding on top of a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan.
Parents Learning Allowance 2024/2025
The Parents’ Learning Allowance is a payment of up to £1,963 a year for students with dependent children. It’s based on your household income.
You don’t have to pay it back and it won’t affect your benefits or tax credits.
Adult Dependants’ Grant 2024/2025
The Adult Dependants’ Grant is a payment of up to £3,438 a year for students who support a dependent adult who has no income of their own.
It's based on your household income and you don’t have to pay it back.
Childcare Grant 2024/2025
The Childcare Grant is a payment that covers up to 85% of your childcare costs. It’s based on your household income and childcare costs. You don’t have to pay it back.
If eligible, you can get up to:
- £193.62 a week for 1 child
- £331.95 a week for 2 or more children
Applying for statutory funding
You can apply for the Parent’s Learning Allowance, Adult Dependants’ Grant and Childcare Grant at the same time you through Student Finance England.
Universal Credit
You can apply for Universal Credit (UC) as a full-time student if at least one of the following applies to you:
- you're a lone parent (including foster parents)
- you're living as a couple and your partner is also a student, and you have at least 1 dependent child
- you're getting Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance
- you're making a joint claim with a non-student partner who is eligible for UC in their own right
To receive support for housing costs, you must be living in rented accommodation and have a formal tenancy agreement in your name. This includes halls of residence. Support for those with a mortgage is not covered.
Applying for Universal Credit
Applications can be made .
Universal Credit applications are administered by the Department for Work & Pensions and have replaced the support that was previously available via Tax Credits and Housing Benefit.
If you have any queries regarding eligibility whilst attending a course please contact the Student Finance Centre.
Child Benefit
Becoming a student doesn’t affect your entitlement to Child Benefit.