Cost

What are the total costs of the programmes to the participant and school?

Participant’s circumstances	Funding category
Working within a state-funded school in England	Funding will be paid for you
Working within an independent school	You will be invoiced for the courseYou will be invoiced for the course (current charges: CSBM national £3,000; CSBM local programme £2,000)
Working in a school operating outside the English system (includes Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Channel Isles and Isle of Man)	You will be invoiced for the course (current charges: CSBM national £3,000; CSBM local programme £2,000) and you will need to be able to meet the cost for travel to and from the face-to-face sessions
Working within a local authority	Funding will be paid for you
Working within an education action zone (EAZ)	Funding will be paid for you
Working within a further education college	You will be invoiced for the course (current charges: CSBM national £3,000; CSBM local programme £2,000)
Not working within a school, but looking to work in a state-funded school	Funding will be paid for you
Not working within a school, but looking to work in an independent or overseas school	You will be invoiced for the course (current charges: CSBM national £3,000; CSBM local programme £2,000)
All special schools funded (those that are independent still receive help or support from their local authorities)	Funding will be paid for you
Overseas maintained schools eg armed forces schools teaching the national curriculum	Funding will be paid for you
Working within Excellence in Cities (EiC)	Funding will be paid for you
Unemployed	Funding will be paid for you if you intend to work in the maintained sector as a bursar. This is not a Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) training scheme to improve the employment prospects of claimants; rather it is aimed at training bursars for the maintained sector. The onus is placed on the applicant to ensure that embarking on this programme will not affect benefit claims

From where does the participant obtain funding to take part in this programme?

If the applicant is eligible for funding, the DCSF will pay the enrolment fee directly to NCSL. In any other case, the participant should investigate who will meet payment for the programme, eg employer or the participant.

What is the charging policy for independent and overseas schools?

Independent and overseas participants will be informed of the precise payment arrangements soon after the closing date of the application round. However, payment in full will be requested prior to the participant attending the first event, unless there are exceptional circumstances, which will be determined on an individual basis by NCSL.

Travel and subsistence policy

NCSL will not meet supply cover costs.

Travel and subsistence will not be met unless under exceptional circumstances. Each exceptional case will be considered individually and will fall under NCSL’s external travel and subsistence policy if it is deemed a valid claim. Please note, travel and subsistence costs will not be paid for overseas participants.

Exceptional circumstances are listed below:

If the bursar or SBM is employed by a school and their school has fewer than 100 pupils on roll. This does not apply to external participants.
If the participant has to travel more than two and a half hours to the venue from their home, then NCSL will pay for travel and subsistence costs, which includes overnight accommodation for the night prior to the face-to-face session.
If the participant has any medical or physical impairment that influences the participant’s decision to travel on the same day, NCSL will pay for travel and subsistence, which includes overnight accommodation for the night prior to the face-to-face session.

Cancellation policy

Prior to acceptance on the programme

If you wish to retract your application, you must contact your training provider for your region and quote your application reference number.

You are only able to defer your application to another cohort only once. If you wish to defer a second time your application will be withdrawn. You will need to apply again for your desired cohort.

After acceptance on the programme

Once you have been accepted onto a national programme you will not be able to transfer to a local programme, unless it is under exceptional circumstances which the college will assess on a case by case basis.

Once you have started the programme, if you wish to withdraw or defer you should contact your training provider who will issue you with a copy of the withdrawal and deferral policy and the form you will need to complete.

You are required to inform your training provider a minimum of two weeks prior to your face-to-face session if you are unable to attend. If you fail to do so the late cancellation costs for the venue and accommodation (for the national programme) can be passed on to you. Please beware, as these can be significant. Try to provide as much notice as you can.