Bursary Query Help Please!

[OnTheTreadmill]

I'm a bit worried about posting this because I think it might seem a bit grabby. But it's been going round and round in my head for a while now and so I might as well ask.

My ds has a bursary to an independent school. He has been there for two years now and is doing really well. He has made loads of friends and loves it there.

I applied on the basis of being a single parent on a low income. When I first applied to the school I had just started seeing someone, and that relationship is now serious and we would like to move in together with a view to getting married.

The thing I am worried about is that if we move in together we would probably need somewhere a bit bigger (as ds and I live in a very small place atm), maybe not immediately but fairly soon. Also both of us are in jobs that require lots of working at home and it would be really tough with both of us trying to do that. I'm just talking about eg a box room to put a desk in. Or even a shed!

My worry is that as this would obviously be more expensive in rent the school might judge that I'm not putting enough money towards the fees, iyswim and might remove the bursary? Eg I'm spending money on things that are not 'essential' ? Getting a box room would probably put the rent up by £300-500 PCM (which would not cover the fees at all but obviously that's money that could go towards them).

Would the school expect us to stay where we are instead of spending more money on rent?

Obviously we would be declaring dps income too but this will still keep us quite a way under the bursary threshold.

I know this sounds like a non-problem but it's worrying me. Am I grabby to think that we could move in together and also not lose this opportunity for ds? I feel as if I can't ask the school. Or should I just accept that this is what I've chosen for ds so a move is not do-able?

Has anyone got any experience of this?

I was going to say that the main issue was that you are now a couple rather than a single parent but the you wrote that gene school are aware of that and you are still entitled to a bursary so that is a non issue.
With regards to moving house: do the school ask for prof of your rent payments? Do they want to know how much jt is?
Some schools just look at household income, big assets and number of dependants. Some schools want to know every little detail about your finances.
Which sort of school is yours?
If it is the first sort then yin won't have any problem whatsoever.
If it is the second sort then they might question why your rent has increased by a large sum but yo can explain to them that as you have increased the number of adults in the household and need to work from home u earn money you had to move somewhere with a small room for a desk. Most schools are very reasonable and will understand that it was not and extravagant move. You are not asking for a bigger bursary so I don't see I being too much of an issue.
If in doubt just ring the bursar and explain that you need to move house and can't find anything else for the same money that you currently pay and ask Whether this will affect your bursary entitlement in a negative way. Schools do realise that sometimes people need to move house, particularly those in rented accommodation.

Sorry about the typos, hopefully you will be able to understand most of it

Yes, the school would ask for proof of rent. They require lots of details, which is fine but I'm just not sure how they do their sums iyswim!

Dp hasn't moved in yet but ds would still be eligible for some bursary as both our salaries are low. Although we would be able to afford somewhere a little bit bigger to live (just about).

I suppose I just worry that wanting to move somewhere a bit bigger would be seen as not prioritising ds's education.

They probably want proof of your rent so that they know that you actually pay rent and don't own a house outright which would give you more disposable income (hence you could contribute more). If your housing costs go up then are highly unlikely to view that as a reason to reduce your bursary. They would only consider you to be taking the Mickey if you moved into a house much larger and more expensive than you need in order to reduce your disposable income. Moving to a house with an extra box room to work from is not extravagant.
Speak to the bursar and explain your situation.
You would be likely to see a much bigger reduction in the bursary from the extra income that your partner will bring than you will from any house move.

No, we cdefinitely wouldn't be asking for a bigger bursary as if anything I know we would pay more with dp moving in and adding his income to the household.

Part of me thinks we should just move and then it's a done deal but I do worry, it feels wrong somehow. Am tied up in knots!

Yes, sorry, crossed posts!