OU Advice Wanted Please!

[BestFootForward]

I a thinking of trying an OU course- K101, Understanding Health & Social Care. I have some questions and would really appreciate any other general advice from people already doing OU courses.

1. Did you get any funding/grants from your local council? My mum seems to think I would qualify for a repayable grant as I have not done any further education before, is this right? I don't think we would get any help from OU as income is over 30k. The course is about £600 which I can't really afford a the moment.

1. Where do you take the exams?

1. Did/do you enjoy the first course you did or was it a struggle to balance study with young children & part time work?

I had lots of other questions but can't remember them now! TIA for any replies!

bump!

I'm not studying with the OU, although I'm at uni, so I can only answer the first and third questions. Our income is over 30k and we get no help at all from the local council. (If anyone does know anything different, I'm happy to be corrected).

In terms of studying, I found it difficult initially to balance the demands of the course with trying to be a good mum. I know I haven't fully answered your questions, hopefully someone will come along with a bit more info

ooo - I'm doing K101 - just started a few weeks ago - submitted my first assignment yesterday

1. Not sure - but you can arrange to pay in instalments with them I think (I'm on benefits so get it all paid for by the OU)

1. The assignments are all submitted online - then there's one exam at the end of the course - don't know where yet but we've been told it will be in somewhere that's relatively close to where we are (my tutorials are in the next town - and one in Leicester)

1. I'm enjoying it so far - but early days. Been a bit of a struggle so far but using the Good Study Guide I've started to make a time management plan.

(1) The OU do give financial assistance to people in certain circumstances. There is a calculator on their website here

(2) You are best to contact the OU to find out where your nearest exam centre would be

(3) I don't work but I am a lone parent, and it can be tough juggling it all. That said, the positives outweigh the negatives as far as I'm concerned.

You do need a fair bit of motivation IMO

Hi BFF - I'm an OU student (but not doing Health & Social Care). You're probably right about not qualifying for financial assistance if your household income is over £30K but it might be worth ringing the OU to check this, because they do operate a sliding scale. I'm not aware of any local authority funding/grants, repayable or otherwise. You might be able to get a Career Development Loan, which is a bank loan but you don't have to start repaying it until your course ends. The other option could be an OU Student Budget Account which allows you to pay in monthly instalments.

OU exams are held at various locations: they will allocate you to your nearest exam centre, but if that isn't convenient for you, you can change it easily (they send out a booklet listing the exam centres in your region).

My first course was DD100 (Social Sciences) and I LOVED it. My children are teenagers but the OU students I know who have young children/part-time jobs have managed to fit study around their other commitments without too much trouble. It will help if you can get your family/friends on board to support you both morally and practically

Good luck!

oh meant to add - I'm a single mum with 3 DS's, don't work part time but do have church commitments on a weekly basis.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I called the OU today and I wouldn't qualify for any help from them due to our income. I didn't ask about the monthly installments so that is something I could look into.

If I did the degree at my local university I could get a non means tested maintenance loan, a fee loan and other possibly childcare grants. Unfortunately you are not eligible for any of that when studying with the OU as they become your LEA apparently. I know I couldn't do the degree at uni at the moment with the children so young so that option is out.

Feeling a bit despondant about it all at the moment but maybe the budget account option is a glimmer of light!

SubRosa Have yo looked here to see if you are entitled to any non means tested loans or childcare grants? The grants are means tested but it fro what I understand the loans aren't.

FAQ- If you have time I would love to hear a bit about the course from someone who is actually doing it rather than just the blurb on the OU site.

If you're still there....

Your Mum might be right. A similar non-repayable scheme is run in my area for nursery workers, and I think health and social care. All it requires is that you have not had any education beyond GCSE level, and be working in the 'field'. It seems to be for NVQ3s though.

Phone the council and do your best to find out. You would probably have to really 'sell' the OU 'level4' H&SC certificate as being a valid alternative to the NVQ3. I would expect all funding to have run out and possible be available again in April, so you need to be prepared to get your application in at the start of April.

When are you starting OU? This October? I'm hoping to start the childcare certificate, so exciting.

Bestfoodforward - do you shop at Tesco? The OU accept Clubcard vouchers at the same rate as other Clubcard deals - which means four times their face value. I have paid for nearly all my OU courses this way - we have taken out a Tesco credit card so we get extra points that way and I look for all the extra points I can get. The result is I have funded my degree almost entirely through my supermarket shopping.
The downside is, I can't ever go to Sainsbury's.

pumpkinsoup & LGP, sorry I have only just seen your responses!

Pumpkinsoup- I have A-levels so don't think I would qualify, I am working in the 'field' as a personal care assistant but it is very part time and I'm not sure it would be enough. From what I have read on the direct gov site, no funding at all is avaliable when studing with the OU, even though I can do the NVQ 3 alongside the course.

LGP- I used to shop at Tesco so have about £150 vouchers. My mum still shops there and she is using my clubcard now so I am saving my vouchers, we have a while before October so I ill see what happens between now and then!

well if you have some vouchers, and can arrange to pay the rest in installments you may be able to afford it?

Info abotu the paying by installments scheme is here
I doubt you would get anywhere with the council considering you have some qualifications and are working.

1. local exam centers, wherever they decide to set one up! These have always been fairly close for me, no more than 20 miles away.

1. my first course was actually k101! Due to splitting with my dpo at the time I had to drop it, but I did re-enrol when theings settled down and I'm now on my last year.

I did enjoy it, but there are times when it is a struggle and it is hard to find the motivation to study. I don't actually work, but I have managed to balance it with having the dts during the course, and having two other children (one with sn). The earlier courses never actually took 16 hours a week worth of work, though now I have to do a lot more. I do wonder if I would have found ti even harder to get motivated had I already been working!

I am hoping so FAQ! My mum has hundreds of pounds of vouchers she has offered to use but it says they are non transferable and have your name printed on them so I'm not sure if I'll be able to use them. I'll wait for my next clubcard mailing and see how close I am!

How are you finding the course? Are you doing the NVQ 3 at the same time?

Chops - did you "get" the bit on "being ill" - you know sick role, biomedical model and all of that jazz? As it's going in one side of my head and straight out of the other.

The "social" aspect of the course I'm coping fine with, and that's the route I hope to take - chosing the courses that are more "social" based as I progress.

Is it going to hinder me greatl if I manage to pass K101 without really grasping the concept of that section?

Thanks for the reply Chops. I am only working between 6-12 hours a week, usually 2 hours 7-9 on a Thursday morn then every other weekend, sat & sun mornings and 4-6 evenings per week for an hour 8.30-9.30. I know people manage OU courses while working full time so I am hoping I will be able to manage! What course did you do after K101?

really sorry faq, I can't help you! I tried to do that course 7 years ago, and I don't remember any of it. When I restarted again I switched to law. Have you tried the OU forums?

A103 and W200 in the same year. Really enjoyed them actually. A103 is humanities and did little bits of different genres - arts, music, literature, etc. W200 is Introduction to Law.