The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is a weekly payment of £10, £20 or £30 to help young people with the day-to-day costs when they stay on at school, college or with a training provider on academic or vocational courses that involve at least 12 hours guided learning each week. There are also £100 bonuses to reward good performance and progression.
The amount that students receive depends on their household income, as shown in the table below:
Around 50% of 16-18 year-olds learning in England are eligible to receive EMA. In order to be eligible, students must:
EMA payments are made every week of the course, as long as the student turns up and shows commitment to their learning programme. The majority of young people can receive EMA for two to three years, depending on how long they need to complete their learning.
