The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a weekly allowance of £30 which may be available to young people over the statutory school leaving age of 16, who are in full time education or take part in a Learning Agreement.
The EMA is paid on a two-weekly basis in arrears and is paid directly into the bank account of the young person.
To be eligible for the EMA a young person must
- Have 100% attendance of their agreed timetable
- Taking part in a learning agreement if they have left school and are engaging with a Next Step Coach at a base
- In the academic session 2022/23, their date of birth must fall on or between 1 March 2003 and 28 February 2007
- Remain in full time-education within the Perth and Kinross Council boundary
For anyone who is 16 on or before the 30th of September 2022, they may be eligible for an EMA from August 2022. If the application is received after the 30th of September 2022 the award will commence from the date of receipt of the application.
If the young person is 16 on or between the 1st of October and the 28th of February 2023, they can submit their application prior to their 16th birthday, however if successful they will not receive payment until January 2022.
Payments will only be made for the weeks where attendance requirements have been met, with no payments for school holiday periods.
EMA can be paid for a maximum of three years or four years for a vulnerable person who may need additional time to further their potential, however an application must be submitted for each academic year.
For College students, EMA information and application forms will be available direct from the college. Perth and Kinross Council only deals with EMAs for students staying on at school or have a Next Step Coach and are attending a base.
To find out more visit https://www.pkc.gov.uk/ema.