[Solved] Is a uni foundation course higher than A level?

Maintenance is payable as long as the child is in full time education and living at home until they are 20. If they live out and are in full time education, this liability stops. At that point you could consider paying something directly to your child to help them out with living costs during their study.

There's a sticky at the top of this section on what counts as below higher education - it may be that you would need to check with the course provider what level the course is.

Maintenance is payable as long as the child is in full time education and living at home until they are 20. If they live out and are in full time education, this liability stops. At that point you could consider paying something directly to your child to help them out with living costs during their study.

Thanks but thats not the question i was asking. Its actually full time education at A level or lower, not unversity courses. What im not sure about is what level a foundation course is at, as its in lieu of not getting high enough A level results to be on a degree course, but ts still a university course and therefore more advanced than A level, dependng on how you look at it.

As actd said, you would need to check with the course provider as to the level of that particular foundation course, as they can vary depending on the nature of the subject.

As far as I'm aware, the qualification level of the course is irrelevant in relation to maintenance liability, it comes down to the child's age, who they live with and whether the course is full time.

I think you can find your answer here

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/tctm02230.htm

After having a cursory look I think it is considered as non advanced and therefore you would still be liable.

I'm still confused though...I've just read that a foundation course is classed as advanced education!

I think the best thing to do is to call the CMS of Child Benefit

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ccmmanual/ccm18030.htm

As far as i can figure it out, the foundation course is a full time university course subject to the usual university fees, grants and student loans etc. Therefore my thoughts are that it is advanced education. If anyone knows different with certainty then please let us know.

Checked with the CSA and it is advanced education...

Hi GeorgiePorgie

Thank you for your post. Under child support legislation, regular child maintenance payments must be made until a child is 16 years old, or 20 if they are in full-time, non-advanced education (A-level or equivalent), or for as long as Child Benefit is being paid. For further information you can visit https://www.gov.uk/when-child-maintenance-payments-stop.

If you have a family-based arrangement in place, you may wish to speak to the other parent regarding your maintenance payments. As family-based arrangements aren’t legally enforceable both parents can discuss and negotiate what is included within their agreement.

If you have an arrangement via the Government’s statutory scheme, you would need to contact them directly to discuss when your payments end. You will find their details on any letters they have sent you or on Gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance.
If you have a Consent Order/Minute of Agreement in place, then you would need to seek legal advice as to when your payments will end.

For more information on the different ways to set up child maintenance, you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website at http://www.cmoptions.org. They also have a sorting out separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.

Regards

William

Thanks for the reply. It seems unrelated to my question, but thanks anyway.