Apprenticeships financial support

Financial support you might be entitled to as a care leaver if you do an apprenticeship.

The amount of support you are entitled to depends on your care leaver status. Check your rights on the GOV.UK support for care leavers website.

Apprenticeship top-up scheme

If you decide to do an apprenticeship, you may be eligible for our apprenticeship top up scheme for care leavers.

Once you start applying for apprenticeships your life beyond care worker will complete an apprenticeship top up calculation with you. You will then know what your income will be if you accept an apprenticeship offer.

How much financial support you will get

It is difficult to say exactly how much extra financial support you might get from us. The scheme is based on what you earn and what your outgoings are.

Your outgoings will vary depending on things like:

Your age
Where you live
How far you travel to get to work
How you get there
Whether you have children

We will review the amount of additional financial support you get every six months as part of your pathway plan review. We will also review it if your income or outgoings change significantly.

You do not have to pay income tax or National Insurance contributions on the money you get from the apprenticeship top up scheme.

Apprenticeships care leavers' bursary

As a care leaver you may be entitled to a Government bursary if you are under 25 when you start an apprenticeship. The bursary is £3000 and is paid to you in instalments over the first year of your apprenticeship.

Guidance on apprenticeships care leavers' bursary on GOV.UK

How to apply

Care leavers should ask your training provider for more information about how to apply for the bursary.

Study materials and training equipment

Help is available for care leavers until you turn 25, however it is not compulsory for us to pay for these costs.

If you will struggle to pay for study or training equipment for a course, for example, catering knives, work boots or books, tell your life beyond care worker. We might be able to help you.

You can also try and get charity funding. There are several charitable organisations for care leavers.