Complete the Care to Learn and 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for defined vulnerable groups funding claim

What’s new

The autumn claim window is now closed. You can only submit new claims during the winter claim window, which runs from 5 January to 11 February 2026.

The guidance remains the same as in the autumn window.

Introduction

From academic year 2025 to 2026, we’ve changed the delivery model for this funding. There is no longer an external Student Bursary Support Service (SBSS) contractor to process applications and make payments.

There willare be 3 separate claim windows for academic year 2025 to 2026 as follows:

1. Autumn 2025 - The first funding claim window willis closed. This window was open onfrom 8 September 2025 anduntil close on 12 November 2025. ThisClaims issubmitted the window in whichthis wewindow expectwill mostbe ofpaid you to submit funding claims. We will pay you in February 2026 (March 2026 for academies) after we have completed all checks, validations, and quality assurance processes.

2. Winter (January 2026) - The second funding claim window - This window will open on 5 January 2026 and close on 11 February 2026. You willcan be able to submit any new funding claims in this period, butthat ityou isdid importantnot tosubmit notein thatthe youfirst willclaim notwindow. beYou ableare not permitted to adjust any claims you have already submitted. The only exception is if we have contacted you about your claim and agreed that you can resubmit your claim in the second window. We will pay you in April 2026 (May 2026 for academies) after we have completed all checks and quality assurance processes.

3. End of year reconciliation for academic year 2025 to 2026 - The third and final window will open on 18 May 2026 and close on 1 July 2026. All institutions submitting claims for Care to Learn (C2L) must submit data for end of year reconciliation.reconciliation. You may also submit any late new funding claims for both schemes if you need to. We will action any recovery of funds and make any final additional payments in September 2026 (October 2026 for academies).

Care to Learn

The C2L scheme provides funding for childcare to help young parents (defined as those aged under 20 years old at the start of their programme) continue in education after the birth of a child. The C2L academic year 2025 to 2026 conditions of grant funding explains the scheme in full.

16 to 19 Bursary Fund for defined vulnerable groups (VB)

This fund provides financial support to help students overcome the specific financial barriers to participation they face so they can remain in education. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide for academic year 2025 to 2026 explains the VBdefined vulnerable group bursary in full.

Who this guide is for

This guide is for settings who need to claim C2L and/or VBdefined vulnerable group bursary funding for eligible students in the autumnwinter 2025 funding claim window for academic year 2025 to 2026. This is the window in which we expect most of you to submit funding claims.

When to complete your submission 

Accessing the form 

Please read the sections below before accessing before submitting the claim. This is the link to the digital form.

Before you start  

To access this digital collection, you need to have an active DfE Sign-in account that is linked to your organisation. If you have not used DfE Sign-in before you will need to create an account.

DfE Sign-in

Sign in to your DfE Sign-in account

Follow the below steps to access the form via your DfE Sign-in account:

1. Access the online form and when prompted, enter your DfE Sign-in credentials (your username and password) for authentication.

2. Choose the organisation that you are completing the form for – this is only required if your account is linked to several organisations.

3. The next page will display the details we hold about the organisation you selected when you signed in. This will show the name, address, and unique identifier of the local authority, as well as the name and email address of the person who signed into DfE Sign-in.

4. If these details are correct, select ‘Continue’‘continue’ to go to the next page.

5. If you believe these details are incorrect, contact us via the customer help portal and we will investigate. However, you can still proceed with your submission.

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account 

You will need to create one by completing steps 1 to 7 below:  

1. Access DfE Sign-in page and select ‘create a DfE Sign-in account.’ On the next page, select ‘No account? Create one’.one.’

2. Enter your name and email address. You must use a valid business email address that contains your namename. –Please please note, we are unable to accept generic emails, such as ‘admin’ or ‘info’. You cannot use a personal email address.

3. We will send you an email to verify your email address. Copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page. 

4. Create a memorable password that is a minimum of 8 characters and contains 3 out of: lowercase characters, uppercase characters, numbers, symbols. Enter your given name and surname.

5. Sign in using your new credentials. Request your multi-factor authentication (MFA) verification email by clicking on “Email‘Email code to [your email address]”address]’ on the verify your identity page.

6. We will send you an MFA email to verify your identity. Copy the code from this email and paste it into the box on the verification page.

7. Follow the next step instructions outlined in ‘Adding an organisation to your DfE Sign-in account’ below.

Once your request to access an organisation has been approved, you can follow the steps outlined under already have a DfE account to complete the form.

You may have noticed the term ‘approver’ when creating your account. An approver is someone at your organisation responsible for controlling who has access to DfE Sign-in and the services within the system. It is usually a senior person, such as a manager.

For security reasons, you will need authorisation from one of your organisation’s approvers before you can access the form.

Adding an organisation to your DfE Sign-in account

To add a new organisation to your DfE Sign-in account, follow steps 1 to 6 below:

1. Login to your DfE Sign-in account.

2. Select ‘Organisations’ from the tab at the top of the page.

3. Select ‘Request access to an organisation’ from the ‘Related actions’ on the righthand side of the page.

4. Enter the name of the organisation you wish to add.

5. Select the organisation.

6. Select ‘Confirm.’‘Confirm’.

Your request will be sent to the approver(s) of your organisation. If you do not already have an approver your request will be actioned by the DfE Sign-in support team.

Once your request to access an organisation has been approved, you will be able to access the form.

If you need further assistance with DfE Sign-in

Use our DfE Sign-in help service  toto request assistance. When raising a support request, select ‘other’.‘other.’

If you are having problems accessing the form collection, you can contact us through our customer help portal.

Completing the forms 

Once authenticated through DfE Sign-in, you will find a portal that lists links to the form(s) your organisation is in scope to complete as below:

• Care to Learn (C2L)
• 16 to 19 Bursary fund for defined vulnerable groups (VB)

When you select a form from the portal, you will find a ‘save and continue’ button that will take you through each page of the form. If you sign out of the form,form or leave it opened for an extended period before submitting it, you can resume your submission when you sign back in, clicking back to where you left, and the digital portal will record the status of your form completion accordingly.

Once you have submitted a form, you will be advised of next steps and will receive an email confirmation of your submission with a link to download a PDF copy of your submission. This link will expire after 6 months, so you should download a copy as soon as possible.

The digital portal will record the status of your form submission(s), you can edit and resubmit your form(s) until the submission deadline for the autumnwinter 2025 window.

Further details on how to complete each form are outlined below:

 Your details (applicable to both forms)

This page will display the details we hold about the organisation you selected when you signed into your DfE Sign-in account. 

Care to Learn (C2L) – autumnwinter 2025 claim form

This read-only page shows information about C2L funding and completion of the form. Your claim will be reviewed and used to assess payment of C2L funding.

The C2L academic year 2025 to 2026 conditions of grant funding explains the scheme in full.

Before you start

Before you start the submission process, please ensure that you have collated the:

• number of students you are claiming C2L for
• total amount you are claiming for childcare
• total amount you are claiming for registration fees
• total amount you are claiming for travel costs
• total amount you are claiming for summer retainers for summer 2026 

You must also have the authority to make the claim on behalf of your organisation.

The amount of funding you request must be the amount you have assessed is required for the full academic year.year, based on the childcare fees and the length of the student’s study programme. You will be required to submit end of year data for reconciliation.

Student funding

You must ensure you have assessed, and have evidence to support, the eligibility of the student and their childcare as well as ensuring the education provision meets the criteria.

Childcare funding

You should provide the total amount of C2L eligible childcare costs incurred by the eligible students. This must not exceed the permitted maximum amounts.amounts of £180 per child per week (national rate), or £195 per child per week (London rate). Do not include registration fees, travel, summer retainers, or administration costs as we will ask you about these later in the form.

Other costs

C2L can also pay for registration fees, travel costs, and summer retainer fees. If you have an eligible claim for any or all of these areas please check Yes,‘Yes’, otherwise check No.‘No’.

Other costs details

Please select all the categories of costs you are eligible to claim for.

Registration fees for childcare providers

C2L will pay registration fees charged by a childcare provider, up to a maximum of £80 per child. This is a one-off payment and does not form part of the weekly maximum amount.

Travel costs funding

C2L will pay for travel costs where appropriate and if these are additional costs that are necessary for the student to take their child(ren) between childcare and home. Travel costs are only applicable if the childcare and education are delivered at separate locations.

Summer retainer costs

C2L will pay for summer retainers if required to hold the childcare place over the summer holiday period. You must ensure any summer retainer claimed meets the specific summer retainer rules in full.

Administration funding

This read only page will automatically calculate the 5% administration funding your claim is eligible for based on your earlier funding claim answers. You do not need to make any entries on this page.

Total funding claim

This read only page will show you your total C2L claim in academic year 2025 to 2026. This page also gives you the option to return to previous screens to amend your answers.

16 to 19 Bursary for defined vulnerable bursary groups (VB) – autumnwinter 2025 claim form

This read only page shows information aboutabout defined VBvulnerable group bursary funding and completion of the form. Your claim will be reviewed and used to assess payment ofof the VB funding.

The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund guide for academic year 2025 to 2026 explains VBthe bursary for defined vulnerable groups in full.

Before you start

Before you start the submission process, please ensure that you have:have the:

• total number of students you are claiming for including any zero bursary students
• total number of students and amount you are claiming for in the following categories:
  • vulnerable group category – in care
  • vulnerable group category – care leavers
  • vulnerable group category – in receipt of Income Support (IS) or Universal Credit (UC)
  • vulnerable group category – in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) plus Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or UC
• the authority to make the claim on behalf of your organisation

The amount of funding you request must be the amount you have assessed is required for the full academic year.

Students – ‘zero’ students

If you hold enough funds to cover the costs of a studentbursary infor a defined vulnerable group eitherstudent doesin notfull needor financialif helpyou have decided that a young person in one or youmore alreadyof havethe enoughdefined fundsvulnerable togroups fullydoes supportnot them,have theyany areactual consideredfinancial aneed, these are ‘zero bursary’ student.students. You stillmust need to include these ‘zero bursary’ students in your funding claimclaim. here.This helps give us information on the number of 16 to 19 students in education who are in each of the defined vulnerable groups and helps inform future 16 to 19 funding.

Students – claiming funding

You must have verified that students are eligible, have evidence to confirm they meet the definition for at least one of the defined vulnerable groups and have a financial need.

Vulnerable group categories

There are 4 categories:

• in care
• care leavers
• in receipt of IS or UC
• in receipt of DLA or PIP asand wellalso as ESA or UC

It is important you ensure students meet the last of the groups above in full before submitting a funding claim to us. We have received claims in the autumn window where our checks have identified that students are only in receipt of PIP or DSA - a student must be in receipt of PIP/DLA and ESA/UC.

For each, confirm the number of students and the total amount of funding you are claiming.

You must have:

• verified that students are eligible and that you have evidence to confirm they meet the definition of the defined vulnerable group youin are claiming forfull
• carried out an assessment of each student’s actual need for funding and ensured the actual amount of funding you are claiming is what is required by the studentsstudents, based on their actual needs and costs

Total students per category

This is a read only page showingshows the number of students per vulnerable category that you have entered and gives you the option to return to the data to make amendments.

Total claims per category

This is a read only page showingshows the amount of funding per vulnerable category that you have entered and gives you the option to return to the data to make amendments.

Declarations page (applicable to both forms)

Once you have completed all data entries in each form you must agree to the mandatory declarations.

Submission summary (applicable to both forms)

The summary page for each form allows you to check your answers before submitting the form. You can change your answers using the ‘Change’ link that appears next to each data entry.

You can also save this summary by selecting ‘Save summary as PDF’ before you submit. Alternatively, you can download it by following these steps:

1. On the summary page, select ‘File’ and then ‘Print.’ A new window will open.

2. From the dropdown menu, select ‘Save as PDF.’

3. Select ‘Save.’

We cannot accept a PDF summary of your answers as proof of submission. You must still submit the form.

 Confirmation (applicable to both forms)

The final page for each form confirms your submission and will provide a unique reference number. It also provides you with a link back to the digital collection portal to either claim the other funding or amend a submission.

We will send you a confirmation email to the email address that you logged into DfE Sign-in with. This will contain a link to download a PDF of your submission, which is valid for 6 months from the date of your submission.

 Amending your submissions (applicable to both forms)

You can resubmit your form(s) up until 5pm on Wednesday, 1211 NovemberFebruary 20252026 when this digital portal will close. To amend and resubmit the relevant form before the deadline, you will need to sign back in and resubmit your form.

We cannot grant any extensions to the deadline.

Enquiries 

If you have read this guidance and have any questions, contact us through the customer help portal quoting ‘Care to Learn (C2L) and 16 to 19 Bursary (VB) – autumnwinter 2025 digital collection’.

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