Home Education and learning School finance and support EMA and University Bursary awards Education Maintenance Allowance and University Bursary appeals
Extending free school meals

From September 2023, we are extending universal free school meals to include children who live in the borough and attend secondary school (up to the age of 16).

+ If you are already get free meals from your school, you do not need to do anything.
+ If you do not get benefits and have an annual net earned income of more than £7,400, you do not need to do anything.
+ If you get benefits but are not currently receiving free school meals, it is important that you fill in your child’s registration form.

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Education Maintenance Allowance and University Bursary appeals

Who can appeal?

Applicants refused support can make an appeal oinline.

Appeals must be received by the School Governance and Information Service administering the scheme within 21 days of the date on the letter refusing support, or they will be ruled as out of time.

Applicants that are ineligible for a Mayor’s EMA of University Bursary Award schemes and appeal against that decision will be considered to see whether they merit support exceptionally. In these cases, the following factors will be taken into account:

  • medical and social factors
  • family circumstances
  • qualifications gained
  • funding available from other sources, both public and private
  • commitment to a chosen career
  • any other information put forward.

How to make an appeal

Your appeal must be received by us within 21 days of the date on the application outcomes letter.

If a representative is appealing on your behalf, the appeal must still be signed by you and be accompanied by an authorisation signed by yourself. We will look at the decision again to see if it can be changed and write to you about the outcome.

You must make your appeal online.

Time limits for appealing

There is a time limit of 21 days from the date on the application outcome letter within which you must submit an appeal.

If your delay is longer than 21 days, your appeal may still be considered, however you must explain the reason for the delay at the same time that you make your appeal. We will decide if this is reasonable before looking at your appeal.

Appeals will be processed in August 2025. You will receive a decision be the end of August.

Late appeals

If you are appealing more than 21 days after the date on the application outcomes letter, your appeal will not be accepted.

Which decisions can be appealed?

Appealable decisions include those about:

  • Your income/earnings
  • your savings
  • who lives in your household
  • How much of your household income is taken to account

Non-appealable decisions include

  • The information and evidence you are required to provide as part of the supporting documentary evidence for your Mayor’s EMA or University Bursary Award application processes.
  • The information and evidence provided by educational institutions to us confirming attendance checks
  • Where we make a decision not to accept a late request from you
  • The eligibility criteria

Other areas of consideration

Attendance

All applicants for the Mayor’s EMA must meet the 95% attendance threshold. This will be verified with education institutions prior to any payment being made.

For the Mayor’s University Bursary Award, all applicants must meet the required attendance eligibility criteria, which will be verified with education institutions.

What happens next

The Appeals Manager will consider your appeal. They will look at the evidence, and the circumstances at the time we made the decision you are appealing against. They cannot look at changes of circumstances that happened after we made the decision.

As part of the verification of information process, documentary evidence will be sought as necessary to prove any aspect of the information supplied on an application form for the Mayor’s EMA/ University Bursary Award.

Please remember you must tell Tower Hamlets School Governance and Information Service about any changes to your circumstance, or the circumstances of anyone that lives with you, that have occurred since your application was assessed and while any appeal you make is being dealt with.

If the decision can be changed in your favour, you will be notified of the outcome.

If the decision cannot be changed, you will be notified of your appeal outcome.

If we think the decision was correct, we will write to you explaining why. If we think the decision was wrong and we change the outcome to your advantage, we will write to tell you about the change. Your appeal will be closed.

Following the outcome of your appeal there will be no further right of appeal.