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Definition of full-time education for those on non-advanced courses
Carers will not be able to receive Carer Support Payment if they are aged 16 to 19 and studying full-time non-advanced education.
Full-time education means study of 21 hours or more a week and counts regardless of whether study is undertaken on or off educational premises.
If the school or college deem the course to be full-time, it counts as full-time education. However, there may be some exceptions, for example if the student:
- is exempt from some parts of a full-time course
- has an accreditation of prior learning. This means has been credited for learning they have done before they started the course.
- has a specific agreement in place with their school or college to attend on a part-time basis, for example if they are resitting a class
Supporting information should be sought in these situations – this could be a signed letter from a school or college office or a lecturer.
Example: A situation where a student may be in school part-time
Zayden provides at least 35 hours of care a week for his father. He has left school and is 17 years old, but has recently returned to school to resit a class. He has a specific agreement with his lecturer to resit the class on a part-time basis.
While most students who are in school would not be eligible (unless they had exceptional circumstances, as school is deemed as full-time study), Zayden would be eligible on the basis that he has a specific agreement in place to undertake the course part-time.
He gets a letter from the school office and his lecturer to provide evidence of this and is awarded Carer Support Payment.
Holiday periods and any temporary interruption to study still count as full-time education. If students are required to resit exams or complete ‘in-course’ modules, this also counts as being in full-time education.
Students no longer count as being in full-time education from the day following their last day of attendance when any of the following apply:
- the course is abandoned
- the student is dismissed from the course
- it has been agreed with the place of education to take time out of a course
When a carer finishes a course of non-advanced education, their parents or guardian may continue to receive support for them, such as Child Benefit, or Universal Credit Child Element. This does not affect the carer’s entitlement to Carer Support Payment as long as they are no longer in education.
Example: entitlement after leaving a course of education
Ellie turned age 16 in December 2022 and left school in March 2023. Her parents can still get Child Benefit and Universal Credit Child Element for her until 31 August 2023. In April 2023, Ellie applies for Carer Support Payment as she is no longer in education. Ellie meets all other qualifying criteria for Carer Support Payment and is therefore entitled from April 2023.
Eligibility for Carer Support Payment outside of term time
Eligibility for Carer Support Payment outside of term time, such as during summer break, will depend on the nature of the course being studied (for example, if it is set to continue into another year as standard and the client has the intention of progressing), and whether they are technically still ‘enrolled’ on the course as part of this.
- Where it is unknown or the client is undecided on whether they might return after summer break, they may be eligible for support as long as continue to meet the other Carer Support Payment eligibility criteria.
- If the client is in full-time non-advanced education and notes that they will be returning after summer break as part of a natural continuation of the course, they wouldn’t be eligible as they would still be counted as being in full-time education during this time.
Note: Though this area doesn’t typically require supporting information, we may require supporting information to provide evidence of this in some cases.
Supporting information
Carers who are aged 16 to 19 will be asked on application for Carer Support Payment whether they are studying a non-advanced course full-time. Carers who do not report they are studying a full-time non-advanced course for more than 21 hours a week will not be required to provide evidence of this.
Carers may be required to provide supporting information where they are aged 16 to 19 and have told us they are studying a non-advanced course for less than 21 hours a week (in school, college or at home). See counting hours of study to confirm what is included in the 21 hours. We would need this to confirm that they are only studying part-time or part of a full-time course. We would need evidence in the form of:
- an email or letter confirming acceptance on to a course
- a learning agreement or personal learning plan
- a student account
This information could include that the student is studying part-time or that the course requires less than 21 hours of study a week. Evidence could also be provided if needed to confirm that the student has left the course with no plans to return.
There may be some situations where people at school want to dispute that they study full-time and are not able to provide any supporting information within our timescales over summer break. In this instance, we would follow our standard supporting information processes and timescales in the first instance. We would then offer them an extension if they require this. Where this is not possible and a client could be without payment over summer break, each case should be considered on a case by case basis, and Client Advisers should check if there is an alternative way that this information could be provided. This should only be used as a last course of action and as an exception to the usual supporting information rules.