Single mum wanting to go to college

[charlietimp88]

Hi there. I'm 29 years old with a 2 and 8 year old and I'm wanting to go to college to study horticulture. I'm totally clueless about how this will affect my benefits and if I would be able to receive some sort of childcare for my youngest. If anyone has any information I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

It depends what benefits you're on. If it's job seekers, then if you're studying more than 12 (I think) hours per week then you won't be able to claim.

If you have to give up a job to attend college then tax credits will likely be affected.

When I started my access course, the college paid my 2 year olds nursery fees in full directly. It's worth asking your college if they have any funding in place to help parents/low income adults to attend college.

I also meant to say, if there isn't any funding to study horticulture, look at access to higher education courses that link into the subject, if only slightly. You could use that to go onto university, and the funding for access courses are (in my experience) easier to get, as opposed to other college courses.

Also, good luck!

It's well worth going back into education, I'd always recommend it