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

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 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 EducationAwards Team 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 or 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
  • 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.

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.

Appeals will be processed in July 2026. You will receive a decision be the end of August.

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 are the eligibility criteria.

Other areas of consideration

Attendance

All applicants for the Mayor’s EMA will need at least a 95% attendance record when we contact your school or college. If you are below this we will make allowances for authorised absence and your attitude to learning.

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 or University Bursary Award.

Please remember you must tell Tower Hamlets Education Awards Team 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.

You will be notified of the 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.

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