Financial support
Our friendly and experienced team is here to help you manage short-term money worries.
We know the cost of living crisis is having a big impact on many people working in education.
Our financial grants service is here to support you with essential living costs.
Staff who are currently working in education and have been for at least two continuous years or more (in a primary or secondary school/college/university or a training provider offering courses to students who are 16+) can apply for ONE of the following grants.
Please read our FAQs to find out which grant is the most appropriate for you. We can only consider one grant application at a time. You can only apply for one grant within a two year period.
Food and travel to work grant
- For food and travel to work costs
- Up to £250
General living cost grant
- For household items e.g. fridge freezers, cookers, washing machines, beds
- For utility costs e.g. gas, electric, water, phone and internet costs
- Up to £600
Our team is processing an unprecedented number of applications from staff who need financial support.
To speed up your application please remember to:
- First read our FAQs - it will help you complete the eligibility checker
- Find out if you are eligible using our eligibility checker. You won’t be able to submit an application without checking your eligibility
- Please get your supporting documents ready before you apply. They are listed in our our FAQs. Please note: you won’t be able to submit an application form without these documents
- Once you have started your application, you can create a login. You will be emailed a link to login to finish or check an existing application
You do not have to pay back any money we give you.
Our service is open for applications during the following months:
- December to January
- March to April
- June to July
- September to October
If you would like to discuss your circumstances and get some advice, get in touch with our Grants Team: Grants.Caseworker@edsupport.org.uk.
Everyone needs help occasionally. Our friendly, experienced team is here to support you.
During 2022-23
1058
people given financial help from Education Support
267%
increase in grants given to help pay for food and utility bills
Teaching assistant Julie, a single parent, couldn't cover household bills and support her daughter. We were able to give Julie a grant to replace her broken washing machine, pay for food and other essentials.
“I would have been lost without finding Education Support, especially now. I don’t know how I would have managed. I couldn’t have afforded to go to the launderette so it’s made a huge difference.”JULIE, TEACHING ASSISTANT
Grants FAQs
Who is eligible to apply?
You must currently be working and have been working in education for at least TWO continuous years (in a primary or secondary school/college/university or a training provider offering courses to students who are 16+) in one of the following roles:
- Teacher
- Teaching Assistant
- Headteachers
- Deputy Head
- SEND staff
- Lecturers
- Supply Teachers (please see below)
- Supply Teaching Assistants (please see below)
- Learning Support
- Professors
- Academic Administrators
- Researchers
We will need confirmation of your employment; a P60 or a payslip (either can be used but one from each of the 2 year period is required). See question three regarding essential documents.
Supply Teachers/Supply Teaching Assistants; we understand at times you will be in between contracts at time of applying, if this is the case, please forward confirmation that you are actively registered with at least one agency.
We cannot consider your application without this information.
You cannot apply if:
- If you have access to funds/savings of more than £2,500, we are not able to consider an application.
- You have applied for a grant from us in the past two years.
What types of grants do we offer?
We are able to offer two types of grants. You can only apply for one grant, and are unable to re-apply for another grant within two years, regardless of what grant type you receive.
Food & travel to work grant: This is up to £250, as a one off payment, to go towards food or travel to work costs (public transport costs or petrol)
General Living cost grant: We will award a grant up to £600, as a one off payment. You may not receive £600, as this is the maximum grant award. We will assess your application to decide the award amount. This grant is for essential household items or utility costs, where you are not in a position to afford them. The essential household items we provide grants for are: fridge freezers, cookers, washing machines and beds.
The utility costs that provide grants for are: heating, gas, electric, water, phones/mobile phone and internet costs.
These grants do not need to re-paid at any point.
What essential documents do I have to provide?
Food & travel to work grant:
You need to supply the following as part of your application:
-
P60 from 2023 and latest payslip (at least 3 payslips if paid weekly)
- Your most recent bank statement on your main account (where your salary is credited and essential household bills are paid from). Please ensure these statements are in full, showing the covering page showing your name and address.
General living cost grant:
-
P60 from 2023 and latest payslip (at least 3 payslips if paid weekly)
-
Your most recent two months bank statement on your main account (where your salary is credited and essential household bills are paid from). Please ensure these statements are in full, showing the covering page showing your name and address.
- Universal Credit statement (most recent and in full)
- Confirmation of utility arrears (if you are applying for help with arrears)
Please see how to download my bank statement as a pdf under question 8. We prefer bank statements as pdfs however can use photos but these need to be very clear.
How do I use the application form?
First you need to complete the eligibility check. You will then need to go to the application form for either the food and travel grant or general living cost grant.
Please have your supporting documents ready to upload, as you cannot submit the application without them.
The online form does not need to be completed all at once. You will be asked for your email address and asked to create a password, this will allow you to save your progress and resume the application at a later stage.
If you plan to complete the form in more than one sitting, it is important that you save your progress as details entered will not be saved without doing this. Upon saving your progress, you will receive an email confirming your progress and a date quoted as to when the form must be submitted. You will have a one month to do this, after this period any details provided will be deleted.
If you complete the form in one sitting, you will receive an email confirming receipt of your application with a reference number beginning with the letter A. This should be received within minutes of placing the application so do check your spam/junk inbox if not the case.
If you are unable to submit a form online, we can forward a paper version, please email Grants.Caseworker@edsupport.org.uk, providing us with your name and address details. Please note, we will take longer to process your application if done via post.
How long does it take to process of applications?
We aim to process applications as quickly as possible however we are a small team and are continuing to receive a high volume of applications so at times it may take us longer than we would like.
Please ensure you have uploaded the supporting documents we require to process your application.
How will payments be made?
Food & travel to work grant: this will be paid via a bank transfer and or e-vouchers.
General living cost grant: this will be paid via e-vouchers, where assistance is awarded for essential household items (we use Argos, Currys, Ikea, etc) and a bank transfer for utility costs, either direct to utility suppliers where assistance is towards arrears or to applicants if assistance is for utility payments.
How do I log back into my application?
When you create an application, you will be asked for your email address and a password, please use this information to log back into your application
How to download bank statements as pdfs?
There are a number of ways to do this. You can find instructions here.
You can also use Google Chrome to create PDF’s if your bank is not listed.
What is the maximum amount of grant awards?
Food and travel to work grant: up to £250.
General living cost grant; up to £600. The grants team will make the final decision on how much is awarded, based on your application.
Can I apply if I have applied previously?
We can only consider one application within a 2-year period, regardless of which grant you have applied for. For example, if you apply for a food grant you are unable to apply for this or for our cost of living grant and vice versa within the next two years.
Is there any other assistance?
Funeral costs:
We can offer a maximum grant of £500 towards funeral costs. This is offered towards a funeral for the applicant’s immediate family member, spouse/partner and child.
The grant will be paid directly to the funeral directors and we require a copy of their invoice.
Bankruptcy fee of £680:
Please forward the formal recommendations from the money advice service you have been working with, confirming they have recommended this course of action. Please note we will not award the fee without this document and the fee will be paid directly to the Insolvency Services.
What other organisations might be able to help me?
A list of organisation is available here.