Student support

At the Government's request we administer two funds designed to support students under specific circumstances: those in financial hardship, and students training to teach in further education colleges (FECs).

Please note, that we make these funds available to institutions. We do not fund students directly. Students who wish to apply for support should contact their institution's student services department.

Access to Learning Fund (ALF)

The Access to Learning Fund provides extra help to students in financial hardship. We allocate to institutions the funds that are available and monitor their use.

For institutions

Enquiries on the allocation and monitoring of funds should be made to John Halsall at HEFCE, on 0117 931 7478, or e-mail ALF@hefce.ac.uk.

How ALF is used by institutions

Download the How ALF is used by institutions as MS Excel Spreadsheet (567 KB)

For students

Further information for students about the Access to Learning Fund is available from Directgov.

The Student Loan Company (SLC) publishes guidance and deals with general queries on 0845 602 0583 or ALF_Queries@slc.co.uk.

FE-ITT Bursary Scheme

We no longer allocate Further Education Initial Teacher Training bursaries for students wishing to teach in FECs.

But we continue to pay the bursaries for a small number of continuing part-time students. 

Learning and Skills Improvement Service are now running an alternative scheme.

Page last updated 21 August 2012

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