It is the end of the year, and there is one question worth asking before the deadline passes: have you spent this year's bursary funding?
Any funding you have not allocated by year-end has to be returned. That is not just a line on a spreadsheet - it means students who could have used that support miss out, and money that was meant to help simply disappears. A few minutes now can make sure that does not happen.
Start with a quick check
Before anything else, ask two questions:
- How much of your Bursary funding is still unallocated?
- Are there students you have already identified who have not drawn their full entitlement?
If there is a gap, there is still time to put the money to work where it matters.
Where a surplus does the most good
The most useful place to direct a surplus is usually whatever is quietly getting in the way of your Bursary students simply getting on with learning:
- Travel cards, so getting to school is never the barrier
- A few laptops or iPads for students without a device at home
- Contributions towards trips, residentials or UCAS fairs
- Revision guides and exam fees for next year
How Bursary16+ keeps it all under control
Often the spending is not the problem - knowing exactly where you stand is. Bursary16+ brings your whole bursary process into one place, from application through to payment and audit, so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Simple online applications. Students and parents apply from any device, with multilingual support, cutting the paperwork for everyone.
- Eligibility verification. Smart tools check application details against your criteria, so the right students get the right support.
- Document management. Proof of income and other evidence is collected and stored securely against each application.
- Approval workflow and payments. Students submit requests from their profile for staff to approve or decline, every request is tracked automatically, and your finance team gets direct access to process approved payments.
- Compliance and reporting. Built-in audit checks keep you DfE-compliant, and you can generate reports on allocations and expenditure - most sixth forms pull a clear year-to-date report in under two minutes.
- Communications and renewals. Personalised and bulk emails with open and read tracking and a full audit log, plus a streamlined annual renewal process for students returning next year.
The result is a joined-up bursary process with less manual chasing, a complete audit trail, and a clear view of every penny.
Want to see how it could work for your school before year-end? Book a quick chat with Mandy and we will walk you through it.
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