How our Bursary Scheme is helping local residents
The Allenton Big Local Bursary Scheme was launched in August 2015 and, since then, we have approved 37 funding applications. The scheme offers up to £500 of support for course fees for people over the age of 16 who live in the Allenton Big Local area. For those who need support with childcare or other caring costs as a direct result of attending their course, there is also up to £500 of additional funding available.
We have funded a wide range of courses, including computing, adult social care, English as a foreign language, and maths.
We recently contacted the people who have received Bursary funding asking them to complete a questionnaire. We wanted to learn more about why they had chosen to take their course and how they had found the application process. Around one third of those we contacted responded to our survey. Here’s what they said:
When asked how easy it was to apply for funding from the ABL Bursary Scheme, 44.5% said very easy, 44.5% said quite easy, and 11% said quite difficult.
100% of the people responding to our survey had applied for funding for course fees. None of the respondents had applied for support with childcare or other caring costs.
We gave a list of reasons for applying for funding and asked the applicants to tell us which ones applied to them. 78% agreed that they had wanted to learn a new skill, 33% said to improve their job prospects, and 44% said to improve their confidence. 67% wanted to gain a qualification and 33% wanted to try something new.
There were lots of very positive comments from the Bursary Scheme recipients, including:
“It’s made me want to learn more.”
“I was able to use my new skills for my course work on the computer.”
“It helped me pass my GCSE English and gain a qualification. I’m now doing an apprenticeship in bricklaying.”
“This was a fantastic chance to try counselling. I completed Level 2 with this funding. I then went on to do Level 3 with a student loan. I just need to do Level 4 and I will be qualified. Thank you so much for getting me started.”
“It really did make a big difference. It helped me get a qualification when I didn’t have enough money to do it. I am also learning something new and also after I finish this course I can apply in the hospital and that’s another job for me!”
“The funding has helped me immensely. It also has enabled me to continue my studies and improve my English. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your support.”
“I enjoyed learning new skills.”
“It has helped me to know more about IT. I’ve been improving my IT skills and am willing to go further with my learning.”
“This fund has helped me improve my English. Now I can read, I can speak, I can write and I can also understand a bit of what people are saying.”
“It helped me become more confident when I spoke to people.”
If you would like to apply for funding from the Allenton Big Local Bursary Scheme, you can download an application and guidelines here. You can apply for funding once every 12 months.
