Funding for specialist further education outside Scotland
Further education colleges in Scotland provide a broad range of courses including specialist courses for people who have additional support needs as well as providing additional support for students on mainstream courses. Students with disabilities have a right to reasonable provision of additional support, services or equipment that they need so that they are
not disadvantaged compared to non-disabled students.
All the financial support for further education students that is detailed in this booklet is only available if you are studying at a college within Scotland. However, it may be that because of your disability or support needs, you may be unable to find further education provision currently available within Scotland that is right for you. Some people therefore choose to attend one of a number of residential specialist colleges elsewhere in the UK. Local authorities have the power to pay bursaries to students studying outwith Scotland, but this is at their discretion.
Arrangements for funding at specialist colleges may change in the future. If you are unsure how to apply for funding ask Skill Scotland for advice.
If you want or need to attend specialist further education outside Scotland, you should ask your social work department for an assessment of your needs that takes into account any help you need in order to access appropriate education. Ask your local authority education department for details of local funding arrangements for specialist placements - sometimes this funding is a mixture of local authority social work or education or benefits funding.
You might also want to consider applying to grant-making trusts for funding to attend a specialist course.