Local Partners and Administrators
Welcome to your section of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) website. These pages are designed to provide you with information to promote and administer EMA.
This section of the website is dedicated to keeping you up to date with the Learner Support Service. We are updating this website regularly so please keep visiting for the latest information.
Latest News
Last Updated: 1st February 2009
Advice for Payment Decisions in the Cases of Adverse Weather Conditions
The Learner Support Service has now released advice on the action that should be taken for weekly EMA payment decisions following the recent adverse weather conditions. To view this document, please click here.
January Bonus for Further Education Learners in the 09/10 academic year
As you are aware, Further Education (FE) learners (not those on FE short courses) currently in receipt of EMA may be eligible for a January Bonus payment for the 09/10 academic year provided they have:
- achieved satisfactory progress against learning goals set out in their Learning Agreement (previously known as Contract Part 2)
- been enrolled prior to, and received a weekly payment, by 31 December 2009; and
- returned to study after the Christmas/New Year break/
To help in using the Bonus Payments functionality, you may find it useful to read section 6.2; Payments: Bonus Payments in the laps Operating Manual.
The January bonus for each learner requires two actions from you:
1. To confirm that an EMA learning Agreement (Contract Part 2) is in place.
2. To make the bonus payment decision on the basis that the Learning Agreement is being met
The actions above must be completed by Friday 26th February 2010 to ensure learners receive their January Bonus in line with EMA policy intentions.
Helpline hours over the Christmas Period
Service availability for the Learner Support Provider and Learner Support Learner Helplines over the Christmas period will be:
Christmas Eve: 07:00-16:00
Christmas Day: Closed
Monday 28 December: Closed
Tuesday 29 December:: 08:00-18:00
Wednesday 30 December: 08:00-18:00
New Year's Day- Closed
Payment Procedure over the Christmas 2009 period for EMA (FE learners only)
As Christmas approaches we would like to remind you that you will be able to make payment decisions for the last week of term on the last day of term that is set in laps.So for example, if you finish term on Thursday 17th December, you will be able to input payment decisions on that day.
To allow payments to be made in these circumstances, please check that your term dates recorded in laps are correct.
Please ensure payments are made before the Christmas break, so that learners do not have to wait until they return for the next term to receive their payments. To enable learners to receive their EMA weekly payment before Christmas, payment decisions must be submitted before 8.00pm on the last day of term.
This information applies to FE providers only, if you are making payments to E2E, PLA or FE short course learners, please click here, for advice on how to make payments over the Christmas period.
‘Not Set’ Payment Decisions
The number of ‘Not Set’ decisions for EMA payments relating to learning activity is currently higher than we would have expected.
EMA is an incentive payment and the incentive is lost if payments are delayed; undermining the scheme intent. Delaying payments also increases the risk of learners leaving education for financial reasons.
We would therefore ask that wherever possible a “yes” or “no” decision should be made. If it is not possible to make a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ payment decision and a ‘Not Set’ decision is in place, colleagues are asked to make every effort to confirm the payment decision within four weeks.
EMA Guarantee; Continuting Entitlement Letters
In May, learners who are eligible for the EMA Guarantee. i.e. learners who had an income assessment and received an EMA payment during 2008/09, were sent a Continuing Entitlement Letter and an EMA Agreement. As a learning provider, you will use this Continuing Entitlement Letter in exactly the same way as the EMA Notice of Entitlement, ie to add the learner to laps in 2009/10. Learners who did not receive a letter and an Agreement by the end of May should contact the Learner Support Helpline, on 0800 121 8989, who will issue alternative documents for enrolment.
Learners who are enrolled on an E2E programme of study who have not received a full income assessment in the 2008/09 EMA year will not be sent a Continuing Entitlement Letter. They are not eligible fo the EMA Guarantee and should reapply for support in 2009/10.
Learner Support Toolkit
Please click here for the Learner Support Toolkit which aims to give an introduction to the Learner Support Programme and how it provides financial support for learners aged 16+.
