FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions

We receive more applications than we have money to fund and therefore we have to make a decision as to which ones will be awarded a grant. The Trustees review the applications for evidence of hardship to a Royal Mail or Post Office Ltd employee's family with children (or a former employee receiving a pension and who has children).

First, each application form has to be checked to see if it has been fully completed and then to see if it meets the eligibility criteria. The household net income will be calculated from the information on the form and from current Government benefits and allowances. Once this has been done the forms are sent out, securely, to a subcommittee of experienced Trustees who then carry out the detailed assessment.

They review each application across a number of areas, including the student’s statement, and then give a total score based on their judgement in each of these areas. It is based on the judgement of each individual Trustee. The Trustees then submit their returns to the Chairman and Secretary and a subcommittee of Trustees they meet to agree the final allocation of bursaries.

The Postal Family Fund is a charitable organisation and will look at the hardship faced by the family in supporting the young person at University. They will look at household income after making allowances for rent or mortgage. Any exceptional expenditure may be taken into account if details are provided. A family with a single parent or one where the children are being cared for by grandparents will be taken into account. Disability or chronic illness of a parent or parents is another factor and so is disability or chronic illness of the student or a sibling. Evidence of any difficulties encountered by the student in his or her education or upbringing will be taken into account and evidence of any volunteering or out of school activities are other factors. The student statement is very important because this gives the Trustees an insight into the motivation and achievements of the student and their hopes and ambitions.

There is no advantage in an early submission, but it does help the Postal Family Fund in administering the scheme especially when we anticipate a lot of applications.

Yes, based on the experience of previous years.

All the results will be sent out at approximately the same time, around the end of September each year. Results will be posted to the address of the applicant parent or guardian given on the form.

No, all the results will be sent out in batches at the same time.

An information pack will be sent out requesting bank details (of the student) and evidence of registration with the university and providing this is received by the date shown in that pack then the payments will be made by Bank transfer by the end of November, but we are dependent on others to make this transfer and it can take longer depending on the student’s bank.

No, the grant is a charitable gift and is made by Trustees exercising their discretion. There is no entitlement to the grant. It does not form part of your contract of employment with Royal Mail or Post Office Ltd.

We regret that we cannot give reasons why an application has not been successful. We have very limited staff resource and such a task would divert the secretary from other charitable tasks involving vulnerable people. Each application will have been assessed by (usually) 6 Trustees and the process is very rigorous and over the years has been proved to be fair and consistent. Trustees can only take into account the information about you and your family circumstances if it is set out on the form, so it is up to you to make sure the form is properly and comprehensively completed before submission. Trustees cannot take into account information provided after the closing date for applications unless they have written to you to request clarification or additional information.