OU funding question

[JodieO]

I'm a lone parent to 3 young dcs (7, almost 6 and 2 years old) and I'd like to do some training. I'm really interested in counselling and psychology so ideally I'd love to train to do that.

Before I had children I worked in admin, reception, accounts assistant and similar jobs really. I'd really love to have a career and be able to support my children. I have a mortgage to pay (I get help with some of it with interest payments but not all as the house was remortgaged when my ex h lived here). Would I be able to get any funding from the OU or get the course paid for?

I read that I'd be able to get financial help but couldn't see if it was x amount per course, per year or in total. It's something I'm interested in and, I've been told, good at (people often come to me with problems and tell me all their secrets and issues and I try to help) so I'd like to put it to some good use.

Any ideas?

Bump, think this may be the wrong section, hmm.

yes you should be able to - I take it you don't have a degree at all??

If not then this eligibility checker for the OU should tell you that you'll get full funding for a course.

No I don't. Gcse's is all I did, I was capable and bright but it wasn't the time for me then for lots of reasons. I regret not staying at school and getting the qualifications I should have but if I did I wouldn't have my lovely children, so I can't regret it too much, if you see what I mean

I'll have a look at that, thanks. Hope you're doing well btw.

Ah I've done that before. Is the award per course taken or in total overall though? As I'd qualify for the maximum but that wouldn't cover a full degree course.

award is per coourse - but unless you've got oodles and oodles of time on your hands you're unlikely to do more than one course at a time (although having said that I probably will in a year or 2 do 2 x 60 point courses at once) - it per academic year.

So I got funding for a course I'm about to finish last academic year, and my funding for my next course (starting in Feb) has been sorted.

Ah thank you. I will definitely look at exactly what courses I need to take then. Ds2 starts pre-school in Marchish time I think so I'll have a few hours every morning and the older 2 are at school full time now too.