To be worried how we will cope financially with DH becoming mature student?

[ShirleyValentine23]

We are currently on a very low household income, we are topped up by universal credit.
DH is a teaching assistant/cover supervisor in a secondary school and has been for just under 20 years (he’s just turned 40).
The wages for what is expected of him, is quite frankly an insult.
I only work part time, as I have a disability that stops me from working full time. I bring home £450 a month
He wants to apply to teach for next year. Which I’m very supportive of…however I’m very concerned about the financial implications this will have on us.
We have a 3 year old, who will be 4 once he starts studying (September 2022).
He isn’t eligible for a bursary, so we would be living off a student loan.
It’s looking like you can get a max of £12382, but I’m not sure how much we’ll be eligible for, we also have a mortgage.
I’ve also done some research and it looks like universal credit doesn’t help people in full time education, and they take the student loan as income.

Can anyone help? I really want him to do the teacher training as I think he’d be great. And he’s got so much experience. He’s ‘outgrown’ his current school role and so much is expected of him now…for very little income.
I know longer term we’ll be better off once he’s qualified, but it’s the financial implications while he’s studying that’s worrying me.

There are lots of ways to do pgce whilst in paid employment though so he should also look at those.

You don't say what disability you have that limits you to £450 per month.

Plus he can work outside of study. My friend has ditched her profession and gone back to uni at 45. She is working at a supermarket on a zero hours contract. She gets up at 3am, stacks shelves or picks orders for delivery then comes home to sort her dcs breakfast and send them to school. She then studies in the day and goes to bed early. She loves it.

Another friend was a postman, again, early starts and early bed but days free to study.

I really think you should take up more work possibly WFH to minimise the impact of your disability.

@ShirleyValentine23

So yes it’ll just be a year long course.

The course runs from September to the end of June. He can pick up supply cover supervisor work and playscheme/holiday work over the summer.

@CorrBlimeyGG

It'll effect your credit histories massively.

If you apply to change to interest only, as opposed to taking a holiday break, it will not affect your credit history at all. They'll still be making the agreed payment each month.

99% of mainstream lenders don't offer interest only therefore would only consider it as part of a financial difficulties arrangement which would effect credit history massively.

Manageable for a (less than a full) year pgce but its going to be very tough. Part-time work on top of that is almost an impossibility.

Could he postpone for a year? Do the research now, figure out just how much he can earn on-the-job, how much loan etc he might be entitled to, see if you're eligible for pip. Then take until Sept 23 to manage on that alone (while he stays ta/cover), maybe with a part-time job on top. That way you should be able to build up some savings, make budgets and he'll understand the difficulty of the challenge of pgce.

If your 3 yr old will still be in childcare next year then you won't be eligible for 30hrs funding - just for 15hrs funding - unless your husband is able to also keep working for at least 16hrs. This was an unwelcome discovery for us as my husband started a degree course this year...

He will be given a student loan, is there any bursaries available?

It’s looking like you can get a max of £12382

I'm pretty sure that's only if you are studying in London.

There are many different ways into qualifying as a teacher, especially given that he is a graduate:

*Go to university and study for a PGCE - he would qualify for a loan and likely a maintenance grant, and depending on the subject, he may also get a bursary which would effectively replace his salary. If he wouldn’t qualify for the bursary, he could consider doing the course part-time and working alongside it
*SCITT or Schools Direct (fee-funded) - maintenance grants and loans available, but not earning a salary so perhaps not suitable
*Schools Direct (salaried) and post-grad teaching apprenticeship - both offer a salary
*Teach First - learn and earn at the same time, but a highly competitive programme so would be hard to get on.

So lots of ways to become a teacher while ALSO earning, and he needs to explore these. It sounds like it’s not practical for your family for him to just simply do the traditional ‘1 year full-time PGCE’ unless he qualifies for a bursary, so he’ll need to be realistic and look at the options. If he wants to become a teacher, this is his problem to solve, not just to dive straight into it without a plan for how you will all manage for the year.

@PersonaNonGarter

Without being too nosy, why can you only earn £450? There are so many jobs out there and loads of part time work would pay more.

Oh yes, my friend earns £27,000 working part time!

But then, there might be a massive difference in the opportunities my friend and OP have had to develop their career.

Earning well has more to do with falling in a fertile ground to grow than with aptitude and hard work.