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Cost of Courses when Studying as a disabled single parent - help?

EdBot79

As the title says, I'm a disabled single parent to a disabled child. They have DLA and an EHCP, so I'm technically not required to search for work myself at the moment, but I really want to use this time to retrain in a career that will allow me to work to my abilities, taking my disabilities into account. I get PIP now but suspect that will end with all of the reviews and changes happening.

I worked in offices for the last 20 years, as well as some retail etc, basically I'd do whatever needed to support my family. Since becoming increasingly more disabled in the last few years and my previous career ending, I've realised that I need to be able to work around my caring requirements and my own physical and mental abilities to avoid my condition worsening.

However the courses that I need to do either require me to take out huge student loans , or pay out of pocket for online education that would fit around my responsibilities to my child. I have completed one course, using my redundancy money to fund it, but that is almost gone now and I cannot afford to fund any more education myself.

Coming out of a financially abusive marriage, I am very scared of taking out loans as it is, plus if I cannot get student financing for the specific course I need, any private loan repayments would make a massive dent in my small budget.

Can anyone suggest any avenues of support that would help me to retrain without putting my family into a worse financial position? I feel so trapped and frustrated.

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Comments

Holly_Alumni

Hi @EdBot79, it's great you want to continue learning. I'm taking a few free courses myself, and have definitely caught the bug for it however, I understand that those available free are limited to certain subject matter. I'm guessing that what you're looking into falls out of that, and perhaps into a more higher education arena which is where it get's a bit more tricky. I've found a few websites on grants for education that might be a route forward. I've noted this below. It's a shame there isn't more support available really as like you, I would have loved to continue upskilling further in a particular subject but the cost is just not affordable at all.

Grants for Education

Funding Further Education for Disabled Students | Disability Rights UK

I really hope you're able to source something so you can continue on your education journey 🙂

uliana

I’m so sorry you're feeling trapped. It's incredibly brave to prioritize a sustainable career for your family’s future. A close friend of mine was in a similar position with her DLA and EHCP responsibilities and found that looking into charitable grants via Turn2us was a lifesaver for avoiding debt. She actually used a grant to transition into medical data, which offered the remote flexibility she needed using skills she got from an online course from elvtr (https://uk.elvtr.com/course/healthcare-analytics). Since you have a history of office work, you might also qualify for help from the Family Fund or specific scholarships for survivors of financial abuse to cover the costs. You shouldn't have to carry the burden of a private loan while managing so much at home.