These benefits are for pupils whose parents receive certain Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits and Inland Revenue Tax Credits. The Learning Trust provides clothing vouchers at age 11+ for pupils transferring from primary to secondary school and free school meals.
School meals
Your child can have free school meals if you get Income Support, or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Child Tax Credit and your annual income is no more than £14,495 and you do not get Working Tax Credit, Guarantee element of State Pension or if you receive Support under part Vl of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Applications should be made using The Learning Trust Application form for
Free School Meals.
Clothing grants
A clothing grant is available to pupils transferring from primary to secondary school at age 11. The grant is paid in vouchers (£60.00), which can only be exchanged for clothing suitable for school.
To qualify:
- Your child must go to a academy, community, foundation, voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school
- You must be resident in Hackney
- You must be in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Working Tax Credit, Guarantee element of State Pension, Child Tax Credit and your income must be below £14,495.
Application should be made using The Learning Trust Application form for help with clothing grants.
You should apply when you receive the secondary school transfer letter informing you of the named school offer, applications should be made before 30 June.
Children who are now 12 years of age but have not yet started in year 7 of a secondary school may still qualify for a clothing grant when they start school.
School journey grants
You can normally get a school journey grant for visiting Hackney's Kench Hill Residential Centre, if you receive certain Department for Work & Pension (DWP) benefits or Inland Revenue Tax Credits. This is administered by your child's school who can also provide you with further information.
Help with travel fares to school for pupils aged 5 - 16
All children under 18 years of age can now travel free on London buses. You should get a photocard for your child. Photocards are available from Tube stations, London Travel Information Centres and Ticket Stops.
For further information visit the Transport for London website.
We will still provide help with travel for children who live in Hackney who can only travel to a academy, community, foundation, voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled school by tube or train and can meet certain conditions.
Primary Pupils (aged 8-11)
Please refer to The Learning Trust application form for help with travel fares for pupils (aged 8-11).
Secondary pupils (aged 11-16)
To qualify you will need to meet the nearest school policy which means you should have previously applied to and been refused school places at all other state maintained schools including religious schools within two miles of your home (for children aged five to seven) or three miles of your home (for children aged eight or over), and therefore you could only obtain a place at a school of much greater distance.
Please refer to The Learning Trust application form for help with travel costs.
Support with Travel for Young People (aged 16-19)
You can qualify for help with travel as long as you meet all the following criteria.
To receive help you must meet the following criteria:
- You live within the London Borough of Hackney.
- You are aged between 16 and 19 on 1st September 2007.
- You attend a full-time course (12 hours of lessons or more a week) at a maintained school or college within Hackney. You may also be eligible for support If you attend a full-time course (12 hours of lessons or more a week) at a maintained school or college outside Hackney because your chosen course of study is not available within Hackney or if there are other exceptional educational, curricular, religious/denominational or social reasons why you must study outside Hackney. If this is the case, you must live three miles or more, by the walking route from the school.
- Either you or, if you still live at home, your parents or carers must qualify for Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit (based on an income of less than £14,495 and where you do not qualify for Working Tax Credit) or have earned less than £30,810 (before tax) between 1st April 2006 and 31st March 2007.
You can also apply for travel support If you have significant special educational needs or disability and therefore we may offer travel support if you live less than three miles from your school or if you or your parents do not qualify for benefits or are an Asylum Seeker known to the Home Office (NASS) or if they earn more than £30,810 a year.
If you receive EMA you are not entitled to help with home-to-school travel costs unless you can show an exceptional case for extra support.
The list of frequently asked questions helps to explain who qualifies for help and the types of help we, The Learning Trust, have available to Hackney residents. Applications should be made using The Learning Trust Application form for support with travel from home to school or college for young people aged 16 to 19 for academic year 2007/2008.
For further details about help with travel between home and school or college for young people aged 16 to 19 please see the Policy 2007/2008.
For further information on any of the above Pupil Benefits please call us on 020 8820 7245. |
0208 820 7000