Skip to main content
CPAG Welfare Rights Home

User account menu

  • Log in

Utility menu - Welfare Rights

  • CPAG Home
  • Benefit rates
  • Shop
  • Training & events

Main navigation

  • Support for advisers
    • Advice line for advisers
    • Support for advisers in England and Wales
    • Support for advisers in Scotland
    • Tell us about your case
  • Handbooks
    • Online handbooks
    • Print handbooks
  • Key topics
    • PIP appeals
    • Maximising income
    • Universal credit
    • Migration to universal credit
    • Survivors of domestic abuse
    • Benefits for migrants
    • Debt
    • Housing costs
    • Personal independence payment
    • Sanctions and work-related requirements
    • Work capability assessment
  • Tools & templates
    • About our tools and templates
    • Universal credit
    • Migration to universal credit
    • Benefits for migrants
    • Personal independence payment
    • Work capability assessment
    • Revision, supersession and appeal procedure
    • Judicial review
    • All tools and templates
  • Benefits in Scotland
    • Scottish benefits
    • More information about benefits in Scotland
    • Other CPAG resources on benefits in Scotland
  • Bulletins & articles
    • Welfare Rights Bulletin
    • Articles
    • eBulletins
  • Test cases
    • About legal test cases
    • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
    • Test case updates
    • Refer a test case
    • Support with the judicial review process
Menu
Search

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Welfare rights
  3. Benefits in Scotland
  4. More information about benefits in Scotland
  5. Benefits for students and young people factsheets

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Welfare rights
  3. Benefits in Scotland
  4. More information about benefits in Scotland
  5. Benefits for students and young people factsheets

Benefits for care-experienced students

Students who have been in local authority care in Scotland may be eligible for a care-experienced bursary. They might also be eligible for social security benefits, and need to know how the bursary interacts with these benefits.
Relevant to
Scotland,
Last reviewed
Thu 27 Mar 2025

On this page

On this page

  • The care-experienced bursary
  • Eligibility for universal credit – care-experienced students
  • Eligibility for other means-tested benefits – care-experienced students
  • How the care-experienced bursary affects benefits
  • Local authority support
  • Further information

If you need advice, speak to your college or university student services adviser, or go to your local citizens advice bureau or other advice agency.

The care-experienced bursary

A care-experienced bursary is available in full-time further education (non-advanced education) and in full-time higher education (advanced education). It is for students who have previously been in local authority care (sometimes referred to as ‘looked after’) at any time in the UK. It doesn’t matter if this was for a very short period. It can also include some other arrangements, for example a student who grew up in an informal kinship care arrangement with some social work involvement.

Students in higher education who are eligible can get a grant of £9000 a year. This is paid instead of the usual student loan for maintenance. Note that care-experienced students in higher education are, in addition, eligible for a special support loan of £2,400 a year, which is for course costs and is ignored for universal credit. 

In further education the care-experienced bursary is part of the discretionary bursary maintenance allowance, and is a grant of £225 per week. College staff who award bursaries are advised (in Scottish Funding Council guidance) to make ‘the optimum funding award’ for the student, which may be to award an education maintenance allowance, or a lower award of bursary maintenance allowance, if the student is getting social security benefits.

In both further and higher education the care-experienced bursary is not income-assessed, so it is paid regardless of household income.

Students in receipt of a care-experienced bursary in higher education have the option to be paid over 12 months, instead of the usual 8 or 9 payments over term-time. Students on a one-year course or in the final year of their course are not eligible to apply for this payment option.

Eligibility for universal credit – care-experienced students

16/17-year-old students

Universal credit (UC) is restricted for 16/17-year-old students who are 'care leavers'. You count as a care leaver if:

  • you were looked after by the local authority at your 16th birthday or after that date; and
  • you were looked after away from home by the local authority for at least three months since the age of 14. The three months don’t have to be a continuous period; and
  • you are no longer looked after by the local authority.

If these rules apply, then while you are 16 or 17 you are only eligible for UC if you have a child, or are ill/disabled (see below for what that means). Even if you qualify on this basis, your UC cannot include help with rent when you are 16 or 17, as local authorities have a duty to provide you with, or pay for, accommodation.

Students aged 18 or over

If you are a part-time student aged 18 or over you should be able to get UC in the same way as anyone else, as long as you can still do any required job search.

The rules allow full-time further education (FE) students under 21 who are ‘without parental support’ to get UC. If you are a care-experienced student aged under 21 in full-time FE, you may be eligible for UC under these rules. 

You must be under 21 (or are 21 but were under that age when you started your course) on a full-time FE course and ‘without parental support’ (see definition, below), eg, you are estranged from your parents or living away from them in other specified circumstances.

If you are in full-time higher education (HE), these rules don't apply.

Note:

Definition of without parental support

‘Without parental support’ means you:

  • have no parent; or
  • are living away from parents because you are estranged from them, or because there is a serious risk to your physical or mental health, or you would suffer significant harm if you lived with them; or
  • are living away from parents who cannot support you financially because they are ill or disabled, in prison, or not allowed to enter Britain.

‘Parent’ includes someone acting in place of a parent.

This is explained in universal credit official guidance, which says:

‘Whilst claiming universal credit care leavers are able to undertake full-time non-advanced education, up to the age of 21 or the end of the academic year in which they reach the age 21 (or at the end of the course if earlier).’

If you don’t fit these rules, then you may qualify for UC because you are in one of the other groups of full-time students who can claim. These are:

  • you are responsible for a child who is under 16, or is 16-19 in full-time non-advanced education - most commonly this will be because you are a parent and your child lives with you;
  • you are ill/disabled. You must have limited capability for work (assessed by the DWP’s work capability assessment) determined before your course starts, and also get adult disability payment (ADP), personal independence payment (PIP) or disability living allowance (DLA);
  • you are a single foster parent, or a student couple and your partner is a foster parent (this includes some kinship carers);
  • you are over pension age (age 66) and your partner has not yet reached that age;
  • you have taken time out because of illness/disability or caring responsibilities and have now recovered or your caring responsibilities have ended, and you are not eligible for a grant or loan;
  • you are a student but your partner is not a student, or your partner is also a student and would be entitled to UC him/herself while in education.
Note:

Examples

Lewis is a 19-year-old care experienced student on a full-time FE course. He is eligible for UC of £650 per month. He is awarded a care-experienced bursary. The care-experienced bursary counts as income for UC. The monthly amount of bursary taken into account is higher than his UC amount. Therefore he gets no UC during his course.

Karen is a 23-year-old care-experienced student on a full-time HE course. She has a 3-year-old child. She is eligible for UC of £1300 per month. She is awarded a care-experienced bursary. The care-experienced bursary counts as income for UC. It reduces her UC to £400 a month during the course. In the summer vacation her UC goes back up to £1300 per month.

Note: if Karen chose to be paid the care-experienced bursary over 12 months, she would still get £400 a month UC during the course, but would get less care-experienced bursary each month, so her total income during the course would be lower. In the summer vacation her UC would go back up to £1300 per month, and she would also get care-experienced bursary payments over the summer. Total income is the same over the year, but less is paid in the academic year and more in the summer, if the bursary is paid over 12 months. She would have to decide if it is better for her to have more money over term-time, or over the summer.

For more about who counts as a full-time student for UC, and who is eligible for UC, see our information on universal credit and students.

Eligibility for other means-tested benefits – care-experienced students

If you are a care-experienced full-time student already getting other means-tested benefits such as income-related employment and support allowance or housing benefit, then you may be able to stay on these while you study. The rules are different for each of these benefits. You cannot make new claims for these benefits (with the exception of housing benefit, in some cases - see below). The most common rules are outlined in summary, below, but if you are on one of these benefits and start studying you should seek independent advice.

Note that these benefits are expected to be replaced by universal credit (UC) by the end of 2025, and most people currently on these benefits are gradually being notified that they must claim UC.

If you get income-related employment and support allowance and start studying you can continue to be entitled if you also get ADP, PIP or DLA.

If you are on housing benefit and start studying you remain eligible in various circumstances, including if you are under 21 and in non-advanced education. For more information see CPAG’s Benefits for Students In Scotland Handbook. You can't usually make a new claim for housing benefit. There is an exception if you are in specified (supported) accommodation or temporary (homeless) accommodation. You must also be a student who is eligible to claim housing benefit.

If you have reached pension age and are getting pension credit and/or housing benefit, you continue to be eligible for these while you are studying.

If you are a care-experienced part-time student and getting any of these other means-tested benefits, you should be able to continue to get them while studying part-time.

How the care-experienced bursary affects benefits

The care-experienced bursary counts as a student grant. Most student grants count as income for UC and other means-tested benefits. Some student grants are disregarded, such as grants for course costs, travel costs or childcare costs. The care-experienced bursary counts as income for UC, with £110 disregarded in each monthly assessment.

For more information about how student income affects benefits see CPAG’s free e-learning course on Scottish student income and universal credit, and part 3 of CPAG’s Benefits For Students In Scotland Handbook.

Local authority support

Some care-experienced young people can get support from the local authority. This varies depending on the young person’s age and other factors. If you are a care-experienced young person aged 16 and 17 and you are excluded from universal credit (UC) because of the special care leaver rules, the local authority should be paying you at least the amount you would otherwise be able to get under UC and also providing you with or paying for your accommodation. The local authority is allowed to take account of other income you have.

More generally, the local authority has a responsibility towards care-experienced young people who were looked after by that local authority on or after their 16th birthday. This can be advice, guidance and/or assistance and can include financial help. The responsibility lasts up to when the young person is 26.

For more details, see see Chapter 10 of CPAG’s Children’s Handbook Scotland.

Further information and advice

  • CPAG in Scotland advice line for frontline advisers and support workers
  • CPAG in Scotland's Benefits for Students work, with information on other resources, including training courses on students and benefits
  • free online Benefits for Students in Scotland Handbook
  • More information about benefits for students on our website
  • CPAG's Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (subscribers only)
  • a free students and benefits elearning course
  • Follow us on Twitter @CPAGScotland

Who cares Scotland

whocaresscotland.org

Advice and support line for care-experienced people Tel: 0330 107 7540 12 noon to 4pm Monday to Friday

Email: [email protected]

Benefits for students and young people factsheets

  • Benefits for students
  • Benefits for care-experienced students
  • Benefits for disabled students
  • Benefits for young people in further education or training
  • Universal credit and students
  • Parents claiming for young people in further education or training
  • Benefits for lone parent students
  • Care-experienced young people and benefits
  • Students and carer support payment

On this page

    Advice for advisers

    Free, expert advice on benefit and tax credit issues if you’re a frontline adviser or support worker.

    Contact the advice line.

    • [email protected]
    • [email protected]

    WR Footer

    • Become a subscriber
    • Advice line for advisers
    • Training and events
    • eLearning
    • CPAG shop

    CPAG's Advice and Rights Team

    • Follow us on Twitter

    © 2025 CPAG | Child Poverty Action Group is a charity registered in England and Wales (registration number 294841) and in Scotland (registration number SC039339)

    Company limited by guarantee registered in England (registration number 1993854)

    Housekeeping (footer)

    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies
    • Terms and conditions
    • Feedback and complaints
    Site built by Agile Collective
    End Child Poverty Fundraising Regulator badge with validation link
    • Child poverty in the UK
      • Poverty: facts and figures
      • What is poverty?
      • Causes of poverty
      • Effects of poverty
      • Ending child poverty
    • What we do
      • Our impact
      • Our objectives
      • Our campaigns
        • Imagine
        • End child poverty
        • End child poverty in Scotland
        • Scottish Campaign on Rights to Social Security
        • Past campaigns
      • Project work
        • Cost of the School Day
          • Resources for tackling poverty in schools
            • All Cost of the School Day resources
              • Talking about costs and money at school - advice from parents and carers
              • Create poverty aware school communities
              • Show leadership and take action
              • Communicate about costs and money
              • Offer confidential and supportive conversations
            • Toolkits
            • Calendar
            • eLearning
            • Ideas Bank
              • Awareness, values and ethos
                • Understanding poverty in your area
                • Cost of the School Day Information Booklet for Families
                • Nurturing approaches
                • Rebranding support to boost uptake
              • Entitlements and financial support
                • Boosting free school meal uptake
                • Family support staff
                • Offering support and referrals
                • Promoting support
              • School uniform
                • Simple, affordable and inclusive uniform policies
                • School and cluster run uniform banks
                • Providing new uniform and clothing
                • Parent-led uniform stall
              • Eating at school
                • Breakfast clubs
                • Breakfast, breaktimes and lunch
                • Boosting free school meal uptake
              • Consulting and planning
                • Listening to families
                • Parents leading consultation
                • Children consulting their school community
                • Whole school approaches
                • Creating a Cost of the School Day policy with learners
                • Cost of the School Day calendar, created by learners
              • Events, celebrations and fundraising
                • Pre-loved prom initiative
                • Supporting attendance and easing pressure
                • World Book Week in Dundee
                • Stress-free Halloween celebrations at school
                • Non-stigmatising online fundraising
              • Learners in the lead
                • Cost of the School Day pupil groups
                • Pupils asking parents and carers about costs
                • Young people sharing their views about uniform at the Scottish Parliament
                • Learners take universal free school meal call to the Scottish Parliament
                • Talking directly to politicians about cost barriers at school
                • Cost of the School Day pupil group interview their Headteacher
              • Communicating with families
                • Building relationships and keeping in touch
                • Open and clear written communication about support
                • Communicating commitment to equity
                • Letting everyone know
                • Engaging with partners in the community to share information with families
                • Improved attendance through support and communication
              • Trips, clubs and experiences
                • Funding trips
                • Offering support for trips
              • Learning and resources
                • Digital devices, connectivity and curriculum costs
                • Preparation station
                • After school study cafes
              • Local authority approaches
                • Equity in South Lanarkshire
                • Kit for all, Dundee
                • Financial inclusion support officers in Glasgow
                • Dundee City Council's Cost of the School Day
                • Involving young people in financial inclusion in East Ayrshire schools
              • Parental involvement
                • Parents in partnership
                • Parent equality groups
                • Working with parent groups on costs
            • Big Question report and film
          • Voice network and Youth Voice
            • Voice network in Scotland
            • Voice network news and opportunities - Scotland
            • Voice network activities - Scotland
              • Voice network activities - raising awareness
              • Voice network activities - asking everyone about costs
              • Voice network activities - taking action
            • Youth Voice in Wales
            • Youth Voice in England
          • Contact the Cost of the School Day team
          • The Cost of the School Day reports, blogs and briefings
        • Early Warning System
          • About the Early Warning System
          • Contact the Early Warning System team
          • Early Warning System findings
        • Managed migration
        • Projects in England and Wales
          • Cost of the School Day
          • Early Warning System
          • Secure Futures for Children and Families
          • Managed migration
          • Universal credit, digitalisation and the rule of law
          • Your Work Your Way
        • Projects in Scotland
          • Strengthening Social Security: research into the five family payments
      • CPAG in Scotland
      • The CPAG team
        • CPAG staff
        • CPAG trustees
        • CPAG's patron and ambassadors
        • CPAG trainers
    • Policy and research
      • Findings from our projects
        • The Cost of a Child reports
        • Cost of the School Day reports, blogs and briefings
        • Early Warning System findings
        • Managed migration research project findings
        • Your Work Your Way - findings from the project
        • Secure Futures for Children and Families
        • Universal credit, digitalisation and the rule of law
      • Our position
        • The two-child limit: our position
        • The benefit cap: our position
      • Policy briefings and reports
        • David Webster briefings on benefit sanctions
      • CPAG's Poverty journal
      • Policy books from CPAG
    • Welfare rights
      • Support for advisers
        • Advice line for advisers
        • Support for advisers in England and Wales
          • Support with the judicial review process
            • What judicial review is and how it can help
            • Judicial review template letters
              • Guide to using CPAG's judicial review pre-action letter templates
              • Universal credit and migration to universal credit
              • Other benefits and payments
              • Benefits for people in particular circumstances
              • Decisions, delays and challenging decisions
            • Pursuing to court and finding a solicitor
          • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
        • Support for advisers in Scotland
          • Advising low-income families in Scotland
          • Advising disabled people and carers in Scotland
          • Advising migrant groups in Scotland
          • Advising students in Scotland
          • Advising kinship carers in Scotland
          • Advising care-experienced young people in Scotland
          • Advising families with a child in the care system in Scotland
        • Tell us about your case
      • Handbooks
        • Online handbooks
        • Print handbooks
      • Key topics
        • PIP appeals
          • Introduction
          • Before you appeal
          • Submitting your appeal
          • Checking the law, facts and evidence
          • Writing the submission for your appeal
          • Your appeal hearing
          • What to do when you get the tribunal's decision
        • Maximising income
        • Universal credit
          • Universal credit - the basics
          • Universal credit and sanctions
        • Migration to universal credit
        • Survivors of domestic abuse
          • Financial help for families fleeing domestic abuse
          • Unwanted payments of abuser’s benefit into your account
          • Exceptions to the two-child limit
          • Work-related requirements if you have recently experienced domestic abuse
          • Separated but living in the same property
          • Value of property and its effect on means-tested benefits
        • Benefits for migrants
        • Debt
        • Housing costs
        • Personal independence payment
        • Sanctions and work-related requirements
        • Work capability assessment
      • Tools & templates
        • About our tools and templates
        • Universal credit
        • Migration to universal credit
        • Benefits for migrants
        • Personal independence payment
        • Work capability assessment
        • Revision, supersession and appeal procedure
        • Judicial review
        • All tools and templates
      • Benefits in Scotland
        • Scottish benefits
          • Children and young people
            • Pregnancy and baby payment
            • Early learning payment
            • School age payment
            • Best start foods
            • Scottish child payment
            • Residence rules for best start grant
            • Getting a best start grant if you are not getting a qualifying benefit
            • How to challenge a Social Security Scotland decision
          • Disability benefits
            • Child disability payment
            • Supporting information for child disability payment claims: suggestions for education staff
            • Child winter heating payment
            • Adult disability payment
            • Adult disability payment assessment
            • Scottish adult disability living allowance
            • Pension age disability payment
            • How to challenge a disability benefit decision
          • Help with council tax
            • Council tax reduction
            • Council tax reduction if you live with an adult who is not your partner
            • Council tax reduction if you live in a band E to H property
            • Calculating the new Scottish council tax reduction
            • Challenging a council tax reduction decision
            • When your council tax reduction starts
            • If you get council tax reduction and your circumstances change
            • Other ways to reduce your council tax bill
          • Benefits for carers
            • Carer support payment
            • Carer's allowance supplement
            • Young carer grant
            • How to challenge a Social Security Scotland decision
          • Help with heating costs
            • Child winter heating payment
            • Winter heating payment
            • Pension age winter heating payment
          • Scottish welfare fund
          • Other Scottish benefits
            • Universal credit Scottish choices
            • Funeral support payment
            • Discretionary housing payments in Scotland
            • Job start payment
        • More information about benefits in Scotland
          • Universal credit factsheets
            • Universal credit - the basics
            • Universal credit and students
            • Benefits for lone parent students
            • Kinship carers and universal credit
          • Families factsheets
            • Financial help in the early years
            • Financial help in the school years
            • Financial help for young parents
            • Parents claiming for young people in further education or training
            • Childcare costs: getting support
            • Children looked after by the local authority - impact on family benefits
            • Financial help for families fleeing domestic abuse
            • Universal credit for lone parent students
            • Financial help for families affected by imprisonment
          • Disability benefits factsheets
            • Benefits for disabled children and their families - a checklist
            • Benefits for disabled students
          • Benefits for migrants and refugees factsheets
            • Rights to benefits and tax credits for European nationals
            • EU citizen guide to claiming benefits in the UK
            • Benefits for new refugees
            • Benefits for resettled Afghans
            • Benefits for resettled Ukrainians
            • No recourse to public funds, person subject to immigration control and benefit entitlement
          • Kinship care factsheets
            • Kinship care and benefits – the essentials
            • Scottish child payment and kinship carers
            • Kinship carers and universal credit
          • Benefits for students and young people factsheets
            • Benefits for students
            • Benefits for care-experienced students
            • Benefits for disabled students
            • Benefits for young people in further education or training
            • Universal credit and students
            • Parents claiming for young people in further education or training
            • Benefits for lone parent students
            • Care-experienced young people and benefits
            • Students and carer support payment
          • Prison and benefits factsheets
            • Financial help for families affected by imprisonment
            • Prison and benefits
          • Veterans and benefits
        • Other CPAG resources on benefits in Scotland
      • Bulletins & articles
        • Welfare Rights Bulletin
        • Articles
        • eBulletins
      • Test cases
        • About legal test cases
        • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
        • Test case updates
        • Refer a test case
        • Support with the judicial review process
    • Get involved
      • Donate
        • Our supporter promise
      • Fundraise
        • Hold a fundraising event
        • Our fundraising heroes
        • Contact the fundraising team
      • A gift in your will
        • How to leave a gift in your will
        • The impact of your legacy
        • Supporter stories
          • Mike's story
          • Ruth's story
          • Gaynor's story
      • In memory
      • Membership
      • Our campaigns
      • Help our work
        • Share your experience of the benefits system
        • Advisers - tell us about your case
        • Voice network and Youth Voice
        • Tell us about your experience of Scottish child payment and other Scottish payments for families
    • Benefit rates
    • Shop
    • Training & events
    • Log in
    • CPAG Home