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Guidance

16 to 19 Bursary Fund: provider guide

Guidance for institutions that administer the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, which provides financial support to help eligible students participate in education.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Education
Published:
2 April 2025
Last updated:
7 September 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated '16 to 19 Bursary Fund: provider guide' with a link to 'Complete the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for defined vulnerable groups funding claim' guidance.

  2. In '16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide: 2026 to 2027', we have revised the dates for the funding claim windows in sections 9.1 and 9.2. We have also updated section 5.1 for clarity.

  3. Added '16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide: 2026 to 2027' and updated '16 to 19 Bursary Fund: checklist'.

  4. We've updated the guidance to clarify that maintained special schools, including community special and foundation special schools, must contact their local authority who will submit a claim on their behalf.

  5. We have added the link to the published form guidance in the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide for 2025 to 2026 to support you in completing your funding claim.

  6. We have removed the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide for 2024 to 2025.

  7. We have made some updates to the 2025 to 2026 guidance. The updates do not change any of the funding rules but are intended to improve clarity on some points.

  8. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide: 2026 to 2027

HTML

16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide: 2025 to 2026

HTML

16 to 19 Bursary Fund: summary of key funding rules

HTML

16 to 19 Bursary Fund: checklist

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 34.8 KB

Details

Students, parents or carers should refer to 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for support on eligibility and claiming funding.

Who this guide is for

This guide is for all institutions that administer the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, including:

  • schools
  • academies
  • further education colleges
  • sixth-form colleges
  • training providers
  • specialist independent providers
  • local authorities

It sets out the funding rules for the bursary fund and forms part of funding agreements. Institutions must comply with the rules when:

  • setting discretionary bursary policies
  • assessing individual student eligibility and actual need
  • making payments

They must be able to show compliance with these funding rules at any audit.

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