Benefits of Parent’s Learning Allowance & How to Apply for It?

If you’re living in the UK and you’re a student, there’s one benefit worth learning about and claiming if you’re eligible. It’s the Parents’ Learning Allowance.

Parents’ Learning Allowance: What is it?

The Parents’ Learning Allowance is a benefit provided by the government of the UK to full-time students who are also parents. The funding amount from this benefit is dependent on the household income of the applicant. This benefit falls under undergraduate student finance.

Benefits of this Allowance

The responsibility of being a full-time student while being responsible for your children is not at all easy. It can be financially challenging for parents to focus on their academics while raising their child/children. The government of the UK recognizes this and has thus provided the Parents’ Learning Allowance to financially aid full-time students who are parents.

Some stand-out benefits of this allowance include:

• The Parents’ Learning Allowance doesn’t have to be paid back to the government as it is a benefit and not a loan.
• This allowance is paid on top of other student finances.
• Your eligibility for other tax credits and benefits will not be affected if you’re claiming the Parents’ Learning Allowance.
• This grant is paid directly to the eligible students.
• There isn’t any upper limit or lower limit in terms of age to be eligible for the Parents’ Learning Allowance.

The financial aid amount: What you’ll get

As already mentioned, the amount that you’ll get as a full-time student and parent is dependent upon your individual circumstances. The only way you’ll know the exact amount you’ll be getting from the UK government is by applying for this grant. In the academic year 2021 to 2022, eligible applicants could get between £50 and £1,821. In the academic year 2022 to 2023, you could get anywhere between £50 and £1,863 a year. This allowance is usually paid in the form of 3 instalments directly to your bank account. Each instalment is paid at the beginning of a new term.

Eligibility

Knowing about the eligibility criteria for this grant is essential. If you may be eligible to receive this grant if:

• You are a student (from England) and have dependent children.
• You’re doing a full-time undergraduate course.
• You’re a parent and taking an ITT (Initial Teacher Training) course.
• You don’t have to be paying for childcare to qualify for this grant.

The application process

When you’re applying for student finance in the UK, that’s when you can also apply for this allowance.

Follow these steps when applying for student finance:

Step 1: Check your eligibility for student finance.

Step 2: Find out the allowance amount that you’re eligible to claim under this grant. This will be dependent on your current circumstances such as your household income. The student finance calculator is useful for this.

Step 3: Prepare your application by checking what proof of identity you’ll have to submit when you can apply, household income proof, etc.

Step 4: Apply by creating a student finance account. It may take up to 6 weeks for your grant application to be processed.

Step 5: Updating your application in case of change in circumstances (you change your course through clearing, change your area of residence) is essential as it can impact the grant amount.

Step 6: The next step is to use your student finance account to update bank details, check how much money you’re eligible to receive, and when you’ll get paid.

Step 7: Thoroughly research what has to be done to keep receiving the grant money when you’re a student. Reapplication (every year) is necessary for student finance.

So, if you’re a parent and a full-time student, apply for the Parents’ Learning Allowance today!