Education Maintenance Allowance - financial help for senior pupils
If you want to stay on a school or go to a further education college you may be entitled to an allowance called an Educational Maintenance Allowance or EMA.
These are weekly payments of £10-£30, dependent on household income, for students who are aged 16 before the 30 of September - and you may qualify if your household's income is less than £22,403 a year for new applicants or less than £33,156 a year for those previously in receipt of EMA.
EMAs are paid in addition to other support and benefits provided by the Government, and will not affect your family's benefits or Child Benefit. It won't affect any money you can earn from a part-time job either.
To qualify, you must attend classes regularly and sign an EMA Learning Agreement with your school or college that sets out what's expected of you in terms of attendance, general conduct, completion of course work and progress with learning.
The EMA application form (658KB PDF) is available online (this document will open in a new window). Copies are also available from your school, and you must re-apply each year.
You can get more information from your school guidance teacher or contact the Educational Maintenance Allowance helpline on 08000 323334.
This service is provided by Education Resources
Contacts and related facilities are listed on the right.
View related publications and forms, where available, by following the links on the left.