Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

PART II AWARDS

Specified persons

5.—(1) Persons described in Part I of Schedule 1, with the exception of persons described in Part II of that Schedule, are, subject to the following paragraphs, specified by the Department for the purposes of Article 50(1).

(2) The board which shall be under a duty to make an award to a person entitled to the payment of an award by virtue of Article 7(2), (3) or 12 of the Council Regulation shall be –

(a) the board in the area of which the person was last resident during the period of 2 years preceding the relevant day;

(b) if sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, the board in the area of which the institution providing the person’s course is situate.

(3) The duty of a board to make an award in pursuance of Article 50(1) which was repealed with transitional and saving provisions on 1st January 1999 by Article 9 of and the Schedule to the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, shall apply only to the extent provided for in Articles 3 and 4 of the Education (Student Support) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1998, and, accordingly, persons specified by the Department for the purposes of Article 50(1) are only so specified in respect of their attendance at a course which is –

(a) a first degree course where –

(i) the person begins to attend the course immediately after ceasing to attend a DipHE course or an HND course (disregarding any intervening vacation), and

(ii) an award made to him in respect of his attendance at the DipHE or HND course was an award made under previous Awards Regulations, or where no award was made would have been treated as such if it had been made;

(b) subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), a postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers where –

(i) the person begins to attend the course immediately after ceasing to attend a first degree course (disregarding any intervening vacation), and

(ii) an award made to him in respect of his attendance at the first degree course was an award made under previous Awards Regulations, or where no award was made would have been treated as such if it had been made;

(c) a course the first year of which began before 1st September 1999.

(4) The Board shall not be under a duty to make a fees only award where the student is attending a flexible postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers, and for the purposes of this regulation “flexible postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers” means a course of initial teacher training, which has been approved by the Teacher Training Agency(1), the length and pattern of which is determined by the student’s experience and training requirements.

(5) The Board shall not be under a duty to award a maintenance grant where the student is attending a flexible postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers which is of less than one year’s duration.

Ordinarily resident

6.—(1) If a board is satisfied that a person was not ordinarily resident in the British Islands, or in the European Economic Area or in Switzerland, throughout the 3 years immediately preceding the first year of the specified course or was not resident in a board’s area on the relevant day only because that person, his spouse, parent, guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for him, or any person having care of him while he is a child, is, or was, employed temporarily outside the British Islands or, as the case may be, outside the European Economic Area or in Switzerland, then, for the purposes of paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 1, that person shall not be regarded as having ceased to be so resident only because of his absence from the British Islands or the European Economic Area or in Switzerland, or the board’s area in consequence of such employment and paragraph (2) shall not apply in the case of such a person. Without prejudice to the foregoing, members of the regular naval, military or air forces of the Crown shall be treated as being temporarily employed within the meaning of this paragraph for any period during which they serve outside the British Islands as members of such forces.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 1, a person shall not be regarded as ordinarily resident in the British Islands or the European Economic Area or in Switzerland, if that person was so resident and had taken up that residence wholly or mainly for the purpose of attending a full-time course of education.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 1, a person shall not be regarded as ordinarily resident in the British Islands if that person is personally ineligible for a full award.

(4) For the purposes of regulation 5(1) the ordinary residence requirements of paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 1 shall not apply in the case of a refugee, ordinarily resident in the British Islands who has not ceased to be so ordinarily resident since he was recognised as a refugee; or in the case of the spouse or child of such a refugee, and paragraph 2(a) of that Schedule shall not apply in the case of a person who –

(a) has been informed in writing by a person acting under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Home Department that, although he is considered not to qualify as a refugee, it is thought right to allow him to enter or remain in the United Kingdom;

(b) has been granted leave to enter or remain accordingly; and

(c) has been ordinarily resident in the British Islands throughout the period since he was granted leave to enter or remain;

or in the case of the spouse or child of such a person.

(5) The person referred to in paragraph 1(b)(ii) of Schedule 1 is –

(a) a European student;

(b) an EEA migrant worker who is entitled to the payment of an award by virtue of Article 7(2) or (3) of the Council Regulation or Article 9(2) of Annex 1 to the Switzerland Agreement, or, where he is a national of the United Kingdom, by virtue of an enforceable Community right to be treated no less favourably than a national of another member State in relation to matters which are the subject of either of these Articles;

(c) the spouse of an EEA migrant worker who is installed in the United Kingdom with his spouse;

(d) the child of an EEA migrant worker who is entitled to the payment of an award by virtue of Article 12 of the Council Regulation or Article 9(2) of Annex 1 to the Switzerland Agreement or where his migrant worker parent is a national of the United Kingdom by virtue of an enforceable Community right to be treated no less favourably than the child of a national of another member State in relation to matters which are the subject of either of these Articles.

(6) In paragraph (5) “parent” includes a guardian, any other person having parental responsibility for a child and any person having care of a child, and “child” shall be construed accordingly.

Previous attendance at a course

7.—(1) For the purpose of regulation 16(2) and (4) and paragraphs 1(d), 2(c) and (d) and 3 of Schedule 1 –

(a) a person shall not be regarded as having previously attended a course –

(i) unless he has previously both attended and held a statutory award in respect of either more than one course or one course for a period longer than 20 weeks;

(ii) by reason only of his having attended from its beginning the course to which his application for an award relates;

(b) any reference to a person having attended a course shall be construed as a reference to his having done so before or after 1st September 2003;

(c) where an award has been transferred under Schedule 3, the student to whom the award has been made shall be treated as having attended only the new course, and the duration of that course shall be treated as the aggregate of the period spent following the previous course and the period which the student in question would ordinarily require for the completion of the new course in the case of either course being a sandwich course ignoring any periods of experience.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall affect the duty of the board to make an award to a person in respect of his attendance at –

(a) a postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers, unless he has –

(i) previously attended such a course; or

(ii) successfully completed a course for the degree of Bachelor of Education (or a comparable first degree or award of an institution or the Council for National Academic Awards) which is referred to in paragraph (3);

(b) a course for the degree of Bachelor of Education (or a comparable first degree or academic award of an institution or the Council for National Academic Awards) the duration of which does not exceed two years and which is referred to in paragraph (3) unless he has previously attended –

(i) such a course whether or not its duration exceeded two years; or

(ii) a postgraduate course for the initial training of teachers;

(c) a full-time course of initial training as a teacher of one year’s duration, or a comparable part-time course, not within sub-paragraph (a) or (b), unless he has for more than three years held a statutory award in respect of his attendance at a full-time course of higher education or comparable course outside Northern Ireland.

(3) A course is referred to in this paragraph if the successful completion of it resulted or results in the person completing it being a qualified teacher within the meaning of section 132 of the Education Reform Act 2002(2) or eligible to be employed as a teacher under Article 70(1)(3).

(4) Any reference to the duration of a course is a reference to the period ordinarily required for its completion by a student who is not excused part of the course on account of his having attended a previous course, in the case of a sandwich course ignoring any periods of experience.

Specified educational facilities

8.  The courses listed in Schedule 2 are specified as educational facilities for the purposes of Article 50(1).

Terms and conditions

9.—(1) Awards to be made by boards shall be subject to the terms and conditions set out in Schedule 3.

(2) Awards to be made by boards shall be either –

(a) a full award in respect of a person’s attendance at a specified course during an academic year beginning after 31st August 2003 –

(i) if the person concerned is ordinarily resident in the board’s area or is a person described in paragraph 1(b)(ii) of Schedule 1; and

(ii) the duty is not owed to the person only because he is a European student;

(b) where sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, a fees only award in respect of a person’s attendance at a specified course at an institution in Northern Ireland during an academic year beginning after 31st August 2003 if the person is a European student.

(3) Where paragraph (2)(a) applies a person shall not be regarded as ordinarily resident in the area of the board as a result of having moved from England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man to become ordinarily resident in the area of a board for the purpose of attending his current course or a previous course and shall be treated as being ordinarily resident in the place from which he has moved.

(4) Where paragraph (2)(b) applies the fees only award shall be made by the board in whose area the main facility of the institution is situated.

(5) The reference in paragraph (3) to a previous course is a reference to a course of further education or higher education which, disregarding an intervening vacation, the student was attending immediately before commencing his current course.

(1)

The Teacher Training Agency was established under section 1 of the Education Act 1994 (c. 30)

(2)

2002 c. 32

(3)

Article 70 was substituted by S.I. 1987/167 (N.I. 2) Article 8 and amended by S.I. 1993/2810 (N.I. 12) Article 50(2) and Schedule 5