If you are applying for a means tested award and have a sibling, parent or child who has also been assessed for means tested funding for a Higher Education course, the assessed contribution may be equally shared between all eligible students in the family. This is referred to as a split contribution. Step children can only be included if they have been legally adopted by your parent.
You must provide evidence that there are other means tested award holders in the family for the contribution to be shared, such as their award notice. If they were means tested and awarded nil, a shared contribution can still be calculated.
Your sibling, parent or child must be in attendance on their course at the start of your academic year for the split contribution to be considered for your full academic year. If their course begins during one of your academic years, you will need to inform us of a change of circumstances for a reassessment to be considered for the remainder of your year.
The age of the other dependant is not used when calculating the entitlement to the disregard as long as their award has been assessed on their parental income.