16-19 Bursary Fund Evaluation
About the study
The 16-19 Bursary Fund is intended to provide financial support to young people who face barriers to participation in education.
Bursaries of £1,200 per year are available to learners belonging to four groups: those in care, care leavers, those in receipt of Income Support and those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
Post-16 Education providers are responsible for administering bursaries and will receive additional funding to award discretionary bursaries to the students they perceive to be facing the greatest financial barriers.
NatCen has been commissioned by DfE to evaluate the 16-19 Bursary Fund. The evaluation runs from March 2012 to October 2014 and employs multiple research methods to address three key aims:
1) Understanding the characteristics of applicants and recipients of bursaries
2) Understanding perceived impacts of the bursaries
3) Understanding the decision-making processes for awarding bursaries.
Potential Policy Impact
The purpose of this evaluation is to gather evidence about how the 16-19 Bursary Fund is being used to support learners. This evidence will be used by the Department for Education to assess how well the Fund is meeting its aims and to inform future policy developments.
Method
The evaluation combines a number of different research methods to achieve its objectives. These include surveys of providers, qualitative case studies, a survey of learners, interviews with learners and analysis of Management Information.
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Of interest:
- NatCen Social Research
- 35 Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0AX
- Charity no. 1091768
- info@natcen.ac.uk
