Important dates and information for academic year 2025/26

Age criteria

In academic year 2025/26, students can be eligible for EMA if their 16th, 17th, 18th or 19th birthday falls between 2 July 2024 and 1 July 2025.

Students who turn 16 after 1 July 2025 cannot leave school until 30 June 2026. Academic year 2025/26 is compulsory for them and they are therefore not eligible for EMA support.

Household income thresholds

EMA is a means-tested allowance. The following household income thresholds apply in academic year 2025/26:

£20,500 if the student is the only child in the household
£22,500 if there is at least one other dependent child eligible for Child Benefit in the household

Important dates

Date	Event
April 2025	EMA Learning Agreement template for academic year 2025/26 available on the Learning Centre Portal. The Learning Centre Portal available for removal of students not returning and confirmation of EMA Learning Agreements for returners.
8 September 2025	Start of the EMA Learning Agreement.
30 September 2025	New students must apply by this date to qualify for backdated payments.
November 2025	Dependency sample check begins.
2 December 2025	For students to be eligible for January bonus, we must have received their application and they must have signed Part 2 of their EMA Learning Agreement by this date.
January 2026	Bonus payments made to eligible students. The date may vary according to the individual student's circumstances. The date will depend on us receiving the student's bonus confirmations on the Learning Centre Portal. You should make bonus confirmations on the portal by the last Friday of January.
February 2026	Pre-launch publicity materials and guidance available to download from nidirect.
31 March 2026	Deadline for submitting new applications for academic year 2025/26.
April 2026	Standard application packs for academic year 2026/27 sent out to Learning Centres and available to download from nidirect. Returners' Information Letters sent to existing EMA students to say they do not need to apply.
June 2026	Returners' Award Letters sent to existing EMA students with confirmation of EMA for academic year 2025/26.
June 2026	Bonus payments made to eligible students. The date may vary according to the individual student's circumstances. The date will depend on us receiving the student's bonus confirmations on the Learning Centre Portal. You should make bonus confirmations on the portal by the last Friday of June.
31 August 2026	Deadline for us to receive students’ supporting evidence for academic year 2025/26 applications.

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Updating EMA Learning Agreements quick guide