Education Maintenance Allowance 16+
Education Maintenance Allowance is a graduated payment of up to £30 a week made directly to young people who continue in non-compulsory further education beyond the age of 16. It is dependent on household income. In England and Wales, payment of EMA is specifically tied to regular attendance at an educational establishment and home educated young people are not eligible.
However, Education Maintenance Allowance is payable to home educated young people in Scotland, where it is not tied to "attendance" but to a learning commitment.
For comparison purposes, the Scottish Government website states that 37,815 young people in Scotland are receiving an EMA, while in England the figure for 2008-9 was fifteen times as great at 576,144.
400 home educated young people in England might claim EMA?
Recent research carried out by Education Otherwise indicates that fewer than one in a thousand young people receiving EMA in Scotland are home educated. If there was a comparable take-up of EMA in England, we would estimate around 400 home educated young people might claim Education Maintenance Allowance.
From the Administrators Guide for EMA in Scotland:
"Q - Are pupils who are educated at home eligible?
A - Yes. Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) will be available to all students who meet the criteria for EMAs, and are undertaking learning with a learning centre recognised and approved by the Local Authority (which may include Home Education)."
See also DirectGov web page on EMA in England and Welsh Assembly Government page on EMA in Wales.
Young People's Learning Agency
In England, EMA is administered by the Young People's Learning Agency.
Will EMA continue after the raising of the compulsory participation age in England?
There has been some speculation that with the raising of the compulsory participation age by 2015 in England there will no longer be a reason for the Government to offer financial inducements if everyone has to stay in education or training anyway.
Read more about raising the participation age here.
On the other hand, roughly two thirds of learners receiving Education Maintenance Allowance have said they would still be on their course irrespective of the EMA.
For example, Recent research from the Learning and Skills Council published in December 2009 referred to 67% "deadweight" which was defined as "the proportion of learners that would still have undertaken a course had EMA not been available."
Please contact Education Otherwise Government Policy Group for further information.
