Support for Boarding: Grant Criteria

We work with boarding schools and sometimes other charities and local authorities to  fund grants  so that young people can attend boarding schools. We can support places  in independent and state boarding schools. We place children in schools where there is an emphasis on pastoral support rather than academic or talent achievements.

You do not need to have chosen a boarding school when you make an application to us – we will help you to find a suitable school. We try to select a school which is within 1.5 hours of the family home.

We work with schools with Good or Excellent reports (from Ofsted, Estyn, Education and Training Inspectorate, Education Scotland and the Independent Schools Inspectorate) for the Boarding/Care element. We also want schools to provide a good level of education for children.

We only fund boarding places for children who are entering Years 7, 8, 9 or 10. Boarding Schools are unlikely to find a place for an older child as it is more difficult to settle into a new school during GCSEs.  Please do not apply for Sixth Form places.

We don’t set a figure for household income as many factors impact it, such as the number of children in the family or if a child/adult within the family has additional needs.  We look at each case in detail to understand the circumstances. We also look at the emotional, practical and financial support from others with Parental Responsibility and extended family members, when making decisions.

We use the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Minimum Income Standard to help provide context. You are unlikely to be eligible to apply if the household income places the family above the Minimum Income Standard in the JRF calculator.

Everyone with Parental Responsibility for the child will be asked to submit bank account and credit card statements to verify their financial situation, unless agreed otherwise. To do this, we work with an online site called Lightning Reach so that sharing statements is simple, secure and faster than emailing bank statements. This can help us to review the application more quickly.  

Buttle UK will prioritise applications from families who can demonstrate that there are no other means of funding the boarding place. 

We expect families to be open and honest with us about all of their assets and income. If at a later date we find out that all the material facts were not made available to us at point of application, we will stop our funding and may request funds be repaid.

Boarding School is only right for a small number of children. The child needs to want to engage with education for a place to succeed, and they need to be able to cope with being away from home, their family and support network for long periods of time.  It can be a good opportunity when a child cannot fully engage with their education because their home environment is not conducive to learning and good wellbeing.

Although a child might like the thought of going to a boarding school, the reality of boarding school can be different from the expectation. There are adults that will help and support the child/young person while at Boarding School, and of course, there are numerous opportunities for extra curricular activities too.  But boarding schools are similar to regular schools in the fact that children are expected to attend and engage in lessons during the day and complete homework in the evening.

Children who, at the time of application, have a history of, or who currently demonstrate high risk behaviours at home or at school, or who do not want to engage in education are unlikely to be accepted to a boarding school. Read about the impact of a boarding place and young people’s experiences here.

A child may be deemed as unsuitable for boarding for a variety of reasons. Unsuitability for boarding may relate to one-off incidents or patterns of behaviour. The list below is not exhaustive, but grounds for unsuitability for boarding may include: 

• Child has major behavioural difficulties, such as displaying physical violence, aggression to adults and/or peers, any type of bullying behaviour, sexual misconduct, arson, vandalism, possession of weapons, theft, and/or illegal substance use.
• Child’s behavioural difficulties indicate that the child does not/will not follow health and safety rules, such as a record or incident(s) of absconding and truancy.
• Child has been excluded from schools two or more times.
• Child has mental health concerns which would mean they could not cope in a boarding environment, or it is felt that the boarding environment will be detrimental to the child’s mental health.
• Child’s level of proficiency in English is such that they cannot safely understand and follow health and safety instructions.
• Child demonstrates a strong aversion to boarding and/or negatively engages with the idea of boarding, displaying high levels of anxiety or unwillingness to be separated from the family.
• Child has undeveloped social skills to an extent which could lead to isolation and , problematic peer relations
• Child displays traits such as dishonesty or untrustworthiness to a degree which is a cause for concern.
• Child has significant medical needs which the school cannot accommodate in the boarding setting, meaning that the child’s well being would be harmed and they would neither cope nor benefit from the boarding environment.
• Child has a serious physical, behavioural or psychological illness or condition which requires medication for regulation but the child’s family fails to follow medical advice. 

Buttle UK works with Boarding Schools, Local Authorities and other charities to cover the cost of boarding school fees, up until the end of year 11. We can also consider helping with some of the additional costs associated with going to Boarding School such as school trips and school uniforms. 

Families are not usually required to contribute to fees, although may be asked to contribute if their financial circumstances improve during the course of the grant. Families will be asked to complete a Renewal Form annually and inform us of any changes to their family or financial circumstances. 

Families will need to continue to pay for all other costs of raising their child, such as travel to and from school, items for the home, everyday clothing and school holiday activities.

You do not need to have chosen a boarding school when you make an application to us – we will help you find a suitable school.  We aim to find places in independent and state boarding schools, no more than 1.5 hours from the family home so that the child can more easily go home on weekends, and return home for holidays. 

We work with schools with Good or Excellent reports for the Boarding/Care element (from Ofsted, Estyn, Education and Training Inspectorate, Education Scotland and the Independent Schools Inspectorate). We also want schools to provide a good level of education for children. We prioritise placing children in schools where there is an emphasis on pastoral support rather than academic or talent achievements.

The boarding schools we work with understand why we help young people into boarding schools and want to help in the same way. They work with us to support each young person into the right school.

There are three stages to a Support of Boarding application:

Stage 1: The online application will ask for a supporting professional to submit family information and supporting statements describing the ongoing crisis at home, how it’s impacting the child’s education and wellbeing, and how the family have tried to address the issues already.

At this stage, we may turn the application down or invite the family to submit their financial information via Lightning Reach. Once we have the financial information, we will open Stage 2 of the application form.  

Stage 2: The supporting professional will be asked to work with the family to complete Stage 2 of the application form with information regarding the family’s finances. They will also be asked to upload evidence to verify the family situation. This could be documents relating to medical conditions, educational history of the child, or supporting statements from other professionals, etc. 

At this stage we may turn the application down or progress the application to Stage 3.

Stage 3: We will discuss the application with relevant boarding schools to determine if a suitable school can be found to meet the needs of the young person. This is often the most difficult part of the process as it’s outside Buttle UK’s control. A school may identify that they do not have any places, or cannot  meet the needs of the child.  

At this stage we may turn the application down or offer a Support for Boarding Grant.

At any stage, we may contact the supporting professional or the family by email or phone to ask for additional information or to clarify information provided. Any delay in providing information will delay the assessment. We may also have to halt the application at any stage if Buttle UK’s funding has been fully allocated.

At Stage 2, we will ask you to provide Supporting Evidence and Financial Evidence.

Supporting Evidence: 

What is asked for will be different for everyone and dependent on the information provided at Stage 1. For example, if the reason for the application is poor health of a parent, we will need to see evidence of the health condition such as a PIP assessment or GP letter confirming health condition etc. We will also ask for evidence of how the child is being impacted; this may be a letter from the school or another professional that knows the child well who can explain. If something cannot be evidenced, it is more difficult for us to decide if we can support or not. 

Financial Evidence: 

Everyone with Parental Responsibility for the child will be asked to submit bank account and credit card statements to verify their financial situation, unless agreed otherwise. To do this, we work with an online site called Lightning Reach so that sharing bank statements is simple, more secure and faster than uploading or emailing. This can help us to review your application more quickly. If we cannot get a clear picture of the family finances, then we are unlikely to support the application.

We expect families to be open and honest with us about all of their assets and income sources. If at a later date we find out that we did not have all the material facts available to us at point of application, we will have to stop our funding and request funds be repaid.

Please note that boarding applications are very detailed and Buttle UK will fully explore:

• The home situation and the impact it is having on the child
• Household income, assets and savings (from bank account statements shared with us)
• Information about members of the extended family and their potential to emotionally, practically and financially support the child
• The young person’s awareness of, and potential suitability for boarding

We prioritise support for the children who most need it, and where the child will be able to cope with, and benefit from a boarding environment. We prioritise applications from families who can demonstrate that there are no other means of funding the boarding place.

Buttle UK will not usually need to contact the supporting professional following the assessment stages. If a grant application is successful, Buttle UK will liaise directly with the family regarding the school placement. We will keep in touch with the family throughout the course of the school place to ensure it has the best possible chance of being successful. 

Schools usually take on new pupils each September, making decisions about their bursaries 6-12 months before a child starts, although some Schools may find a place for a child mid-way through the year. We suggest making an application to us the year before a place is needed to allow plenty of time for the assessment to be completed.

Before starting your online application, please read through our criteria carefully, and read all of the boxes above to ensure boarding is the right choice for the child.  

We only accept applications for Support for Boarding grant from frontline professionals working as a Local Authority Social Worker, Local Authority Family Support Worker or Safeguarding/Pastoral leads from Schools (excluding Boarding Schools) who: 

• are working directly with the child/family
• have made a full assessment of the child/family’s situation and needs
• can provide evidence of the ongoing crisis

We cannot accept applications from Boarding Schools or directly from families

If you are ready to start an application, please start here.

If you would like more information before making an application please contact: info@buttleuk.org and we will arrange for someone to contact you.