Benefits help please!

[Outnumbrd]

I've just found out I have a place to do Postgrad at a very good college. It means a move to London but I'm a single mum with 4 children. Can anyone advise about Tax Credits, income support, housing benefit and whether I'd be entitled to these. Also I am hoping to swap my council house as I couldn't afford to rent privately. However if I can't get a swap how much HB would I get in London for a 3/4 bed house rented privately?
I currently work so changing from a wage to student is a bit daunting I will be doing some self employed teaching once I'm established and settled though.
Thanks in advance!

Hi you will still get child tax/benefit. You will not get income support or housing though you will have tp apply for student finance

Forgot to ask, as a student (postgrad) can I get help with childcare from tax credits?

If you work 16 hrs plus then you can claim working tax :)

Really? Is student finance a lone? Is that from the college? Thanks for replying

What type of course is it? This may have a bearing on what you will get.

You can yes but you are better getting childcare costs through student finance

Yes if you are postgraduate you will have to apply for student finance "loans/grants"

You can get housing benefit if you are a lone parent and a student.

Not when you are entitled to student finance. :)

Only if your student finance gives you a high income. If you are still low income (which on the usual loans you will be) you can still receive benefits. It's right there on the government websites.

Oh gosh it's so confusing prob more confusing than the course!! It's a postgrad at music college so won't attract government funding/grants I don't think. So should I go for HB or student finance?

I had hb and student finance

Thanks for your replies I'll google student finance now :)

I would go to a CAB to see if they can help. No student finance generally for postgrad courses unless they are medicine, social work, teachibg and a few others :( sorry.

You might well be able to get help with housing if you're a single parent. You can for undergrad, IIRC. I've no idea for post-grad.

What I do know is that it's hard tp get good advice about what you're entitled to as a student. No point in asking the DWP or job centre, they won't give that kind of advice. The "turn2us" benefits calculators don't work for srudents either. Throw into the mix that you're a parent-student and that complicates things further. Student Finance England phone line staff have no clue about student patents. Last year for example, I was told on three separate occasions that I wasn't e titled to the parent learning grant as my partner had claimed it. That was false, we were both eligible to claim, I only found that out after speaking to my uni.

The best place IME to get good advice about student finance is from your uni. They will have a "student services" team (or similar) dedicated to helping support students through uni, and should have advisors there who will be up to date with what's available.

A bit of a different thing now... Does anyone think I'm being selfish? I have a small amount of savings which will now go on this course, part of me thinks I should be saving this to spend on my kids future Uni/lives etc..

Cross posts!

You're right, it is confusing. But there will be someone at your uni who's job it is to make sense of it. They can help you. If your uni is like mine, you don't need to have started the course to make contact with the student support people, just call and ask to speak to them.

Ragusa, I thought so!

Thanks I'll contact them next week then, I just don't want to spell my life and circumstances out to them if that makes sense!

Not selfish at all! You are using this money to invest in hot family's future by making yourself more employable.

If you ask to speak to whoever deals with the money side for students, it should be totally confidential, it won't be your course leader or a lecturer or anyone like that.

Of course you're not being selfish. Unless you've got zillions stashed away then sad to say your savings aren't going to make much of a dent on your DCs's future HE costs anyway. That's the world we live in now :( Regardless of that, you are prefectly justified in following your dreams - now that's an important life lesson to teach your kids.

Seriously, Citizen's Advice will be well placed to give you guidance - their advisors are well-trained. And the uni advice service, as others have suggested. Benefits and students is a minefield area, so definitely worth seeking specialist advice.

Well I am in an ok but more boring career now which I'm giving up to follow my heart so I guess that's where the guilt lies! It's such a fantastic opportunity though I'm amazed I was offered a place so now have to go for it!

One of the first things you should find out is if you're eligible for the childcare grant. You can get 80% of fees paid (up to a weekly cap, I forget what). It made doing uni possible for me.

You don't have a scholarship or bursary from a research council do you? If so, there are often additional payments for dependent children.

Your uni might have discretionary bursaries or support funds for postgrads. You could also investigate charitable sources - there are quite a few niche little charities or charitable trusts that just give to, for example, ex-service personnel studying maths in Hertfordshire (!) so there might be one that first your circs down to the ground, you never know :)

Again, CAB will be able to do a grant search for you.

Obviously, this is all in addition to the benefits you might be entitled to. Full-time students generally aren't, but there are some concessions for those with dependents.