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NU Belong Fund

The NU Belong Fund provides financial support of up to £2,000 per year for eligible students.  

We know that financial pressure can be one of the biggest barriers to staying in and succeeding at university. The NU Belong Fund is here to help with that.  

Who is eligible?  

To be eligible for the NU Belong Fund, you must meet one of the below definitions:  

Care Leaver  

  • Have 'former relevant care leaver status' according to the Children (Leaving Care) Act. This status applies to people under the age of 25 who were 'looked after' by the local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and ending after the age of 16.  
  • Have been privately fostered up to the age of 18 – this arrangement must be for more than a two-month period.  
  • Have been the subject of a 'special guardianship order', 'kinships fostering' and were 'looked after' immediately prior to the making of the order.  

Estranged Student   

Under the age of 25 and have been granted independent student status due to irreconcilable estrangement by their student funding body (Student Finance England/ Student Finance Northern Ireland/Student Awards Agency for Scotland /Student Finance Wales).  

Student Carer  

Providing unpaid care for a family member or friend who cannot manage without your help and support due to an:  

  • An illness or physical health condition  
  • A disability  
  • A mental health problem  
  • An addiction  

In addition, eligible students must be:  

  • Home fee status;  
  • Fully enrolled on a full-time Foundation, Undergraduate or integrated Master’s programme at Northumbria University;  
  • Actively engaging with their studies, taking account of any authorised absence, agreed adjustment, placement, study-abroad period or formally approved variation to their study arrangements; and have applied for and taken all statutory student funding to which they are reasonably entitled. 

The University’s decision to award or withdraw financial support is final. This does not affect your statutory rights, and you may raise concerns via the university's complaint process.  

Eligibility and terms and conditions for the Fund are reviewed annually. If you are unsure whether you meet eligibility criteria, please get in touch using via our enquiry form.

Terms and conditions for 2026/27 can be viewed here.  

 

Award amounts and payment schedule 

The award amount you could receive and the payment date are dependent upon the date an application is received. The table below sets out the current schedule for 2026/27.  

Scholarship Application Deadlines Table

Scroll to see full table →

Application received by Maximum award Payment instalments
31 December 2026 Up to £2,000 3 instalments
1 January – 31 March 2027 Up to £1,200 2 instalments
1 April – 1 July 2027 Up to £800 1 instalment

You will be advised of your specific payment dates following approval. The first instalment date depends on when your application is approved.  

 

Supporting Documentation  

Care Leaver  

In order to receive the funding, you will need to provide a letter/ confirmation document from, for example, your leaving care team to confirm that you meet the criteria.   

Estranged Student   

Students will be asked to provide confirmation that they have been assessed as independent due to irreconcilable estrangement by Student Finance for that funding year.  

Student Carer  

  • A letter from a Professional Carer’s Support Organisation/Social Worker  
  • A letter from a GP/other Medical Professional.   
  • Proof that you were in receipt of Carer’s Allowance before you started your course, (first year students only)  
  • Proof that you are in receipt of Carers Element as part of Universal Credit   
  • A letter from a Social Worker/Local Authority 
  • A letter from a teacher/adviser from school/college 

If you are experiencing difficulties getting hold of the nescessary documentation, please contact us via our enquiry form. 

Frequently asked questions

If you have any queries that have not been answered on our web pages, you can contact us by selecting either of the options below.   

The Fund opens  21 September 2026, new students will need to attend an appointment with a Student Adviser before applying to the Fund.  

After the appointment your Adviser will send you a unique link to submit your application through the Blackbullion Platform. Your application decision will be communication through this platform.

The NU Belong Fund may close early if a higher-than-expected number of applications are received. If this happens and you have not yet received support in that academic year, a Student Adviser will contact you to advise on interim or alternative support options.

The NU Belong Fund is available to full-time Foundation and Undergraduate students only. However, some other forms of support, such as one-to-one appointments and wellbeing referrals, may still be available to you regardless of your mode of study. Please get in touch to discuss your circumstances.  

The NU Belong Fund is currently available for Foundation and undergraduate students only. If you are a postgraduate student, please contact us and we can advise on what support may be available to you through other services.  

No. Supporting documents cannot be from a family member. Supporting documents must come from a professional or official source - such as a general practitioner (GP), social worker, local authority, carers support organisation or student funding body. 

No. For student carers, your supporting document must relate to your role as a carer, not to the person you care for. If you are unsure what will be accepted, please contact us before applying.  

If you are an estranged student, you will need independent student status from your funding body to be eligible for the NU Belong Fund. However, you can still get in touch with us and your Student Adviser can help guide you through the process of applying for that status. 

We understand that supporting documents can be genuinely difficult to obtain in some circumstances, and we don't want paperwork to be a barrier to accessing support. Get in touch via our enquiry form and we'll work with you to find a solution. Current students should contact us via the Student Portal.

A The NU Belong Fund is separate from your standard student funding.  This is a standalone fund that does not prevent you from applying to any other university funds, including the University’s Success Funds.  

Page last updated 31/07/26

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