Information, advice and guidance for parents
Benefits Post-16
Although your child can leave school on the last Friday in June if they are 16 by the end of the summer holidays, the Government expects them to continue in approved education or training until at least their 18th birthday. Some benefits, including child benefits, can only be claimed post-16 if your child continues in approved education or training.
The appropriate benefits agency will write to you before your child leaves school and ask you to confirm what they will be doing post-16. It is your responsibility to respond to any enquiries made by benefit agencies and keep them updated if things change.
Financial support
If your child is continuing in approved education or training, you can continue to receive child benefit for them as long as they remain in that approved education or training (see above).
Your child may be eligible for a 16 to 19 bursary through their post-16 setting to help with the costs of their education. Check the Government website for eligibility and then contact the setting’s student support services for information on how to apply.
If your child has a child of their own, they may be able to claim support for childcare costs through Care to Learn.
If your child is continuing in full-time education or training, they can apply for a 16+ Zip Oyster Photocard to receive free bus and tram travel on London services, and discounts on other London transport. There is a £20.00 administration fee, and you will need a digital colour photo of your child and to complete the application on their behalf.
Keep us updated, and access support for your child to find education
Bexley has a legal responsibility to track the education and employment status of all young people of year 12 or year 13 age (typically 16-18), and report this back to the Government. It’s important that we know of any young people of these ages who move into Bexley or move out of Bexley, along with the education or employment status of anyone living in the borough.
By letting us know that your child of year 12 or 13 age is not in education, employment, or training (also known as NEET), we can arrange for them to receive support from Bexley Youth Advice to find education, or employment with training (such as an apprenticeship). This will enable them to fulfil the expectation that they remain in approved education or training until at least their 18th birthday.
If your child leaves post-16 education before their course was due to complete, notifying us that they’ve become an early leaver means we can get in touch with them to help them find something new.
Parents, and professionals working with Bexley young people, can keep us updated on a young person’s education, employment, or training status by contacting Bexley Youth Advice (BYA) on 020 3045 5555. If the young person needs help to find new approved education or training, you can request an appointment with BYA on the same call.
Contact from Bexley’s 14 to 19 Services
Bexley has a legal responsibility to track the education and employment status of young people in the borough. We do this in partnership with Shaw Trust, who also deliver the support offer at Bexley Youth Advice. Most of the information needed will be provided to us by schools and colleges, who have a legal responsibility to do so. We build on this with information held by other London Borough of Bexley services, including Council Tax data, to confirm we are tracking young people who live in Bexley, and to access contact details where we need to get in touch with the young person or their parent/carer to secure information not received from schools, colleges, and other post-16 education settings.
What information we need, and who we need the information for, varies by academic year group.
Year 11
In year 11, we have a legal responsibility to find out what young people educated in Bexley have applied to do for post-16 education or employment, and whether they have received an offer to start from September after they leave school. In doing so, we can identify young people who have not applied or have not received an offer and so may need urgent help to find a destination at the start of year 12. Securing this information and reporting it back to the Government is known as the ‘September Offer’ or the ‘September Guarantee'.
In the first instance, we will try to secure this information from our local post-16 education providers. Still, if we cannot identify an offer for a young person we may contact them or their parent/carer directly. We will initially send an email or SMS message asking you to complete a survey to provide the information needed. However, we may also call, send a letter, or make a home visit if our contact attempts are unsuccessful.
Year 12
In year 12, our legal responsibilities increase as we are required to identify what young people who were educated in Bexley for year 11, and those residents in Bexley of year 12, are doing in terms of education or employment. Young people who do not live in Bexley, but were educated here for year 11, may also be contacted by their own local authority for this information. The process of securing this information and reporting it back to the Government is known as the ‘Activity Survey’.
In the first instance, we will try to secure this information from our local post-16 education providers, but if we cannot identify a destination for a young person we may contact them or their parent/carer directly. We will initially send an email or SMS message asking you to complete our Young Person Update Form to provide the information needed. However, we may also call, send a letter, or make a home visit if our contact attempts are unsuccessful.
Towards the end of the year, we are required to carry out the ‘September Offer’ or ‘September Guarantee’ activity again, but only for the young people who live in Bexley this time and to find out what education or employment they will be doing from the start of year 13.
In the first instance, we will try to secure this information from our local post-16 education providers, but if we cannot identify an offer for a young person we may contact them or their parent/carer directly. We will initially send an email or SMS message asking you to complete a survey to provide the information needed. However, we may also call, send a letter, or make a home visit if our contact attempts are unsuccessful.
Throughout the year we will regularly contact resident young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to confirm if anything has changed and to offer support to find education, or employment with training (e.g., an apprenticeship). This information is reported back to Government as part of our main responsibility to track the education and employment status of young people in the borough. You can help with this by keeping us updated through the Young Person Update Form. We may also need to regularly contact young residents on shorter courses to confirm their next steps and offer help if needed.
Year 13
In year 13, our legal responsibilities are to identify what young people in Bexley of year 13 age are doing in terms of education or employment.
In the first instance, we will try to secure this information from our local post-16 education providers. Still, if we cannot identify a destination for a young person we may contact them or their parent/carer directly. We will initially send an email or SMS message asking you to complete our Young Person Update Form to provide the information needed, but may also call, send a letter, or make a home visit if our contact attempts are not successful.
Throughout the year we will regularly contact young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to confirm if anything has changed and to offer support to find education, or employment with training (e.g., an apprenticeship). This information is reported back to Government as part of our main responsibility to track the education and employment status of young people in the borough. You can help with this by keeping us updated through the Young Person Update Form. We may also need to regularly contact young residents on shorter courses to confirm their next steps and offer help if needed.
Young Person Plans
In years 14 to 20 our legal responsibility is to identify what young residents in Bexley are doing in terms of education or employment, but only for those with an active Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
In the first instance, we will try to secure this information from our local post-16 education providers or Bexley’s SEND Service, but if we cannot identify a destination for a young person we may contact them or their parent/carer directly. We will initially send an email or SMS message asking you to complete our Young Person Update Form to provide the information needed, but may also call, send a letter, or make a home visit if our contact attempts are not successful.
Throughout the year we will regularly contact young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to confirm if anything has changed and to offer support to find suitable education. This information is reported back to Government as part of our main responsibility to track the education and employment status of young people in the borough. You can help with this by keeping us updated through the Young Person Update Form.