Who is it for?

The COO-L Prepaid Card scheme will run from 1 May 2010 for one year. Please note that the scheme provides 300 cards. The limit has now been reached.

To apply to be added to the waiting list, please click here: 'How to apply?'

A young person must meet the following criteria to be entitled to a Prepaid Card as part of the COO-L scheme.

Age requirement

• Young people in school years 9, 10 and 11 during the 2010/11 academic year, aged from 11 to 17
• Young people Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET) whose birthdays fall between 1st September 1992 and 31st August 1995.

Residence requirement

• Young people enrolled at a London Borough of Tower Hamlets school or the Borough's Pupil Referral Unit
• Children Looked After: Young people supported by London Borough of Tower Hamlets attending out-Borough schools
• NEET young people resident in the area of London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Income
All Looked After Children are eligible under this requirement and young people from families eligible for free school meals i.e. those who receive:

• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance; Child Tax Credit where the applicant is not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and their annual income as assessed by the Inland Revenue does not exceed £14,495
• Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit or National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 199

Other requirements
Young people must fall into one or more of the following groups:

• attending Tower Hamlets Pupil Referral Unit
• being a Looked After Child
• holding a current statement of special educational needs
• being classified by their school as School Action Plus or School Action
• underachieving at key stage 3 and 4 - young people in this group must be referred to COO-L by their school
• referred by Social Inclusion Panel (SIP)
• Eligible for free school meals

Date of eligibility for bursary

Eligible young people become eligible for a bursary of £25 per month from the month during which they register themselves on the COO-L system www.prepaid.coo-l.co.uk.

Commencement of bursary use

Eligible young people can only spend their bursary from the date of receipt of signed consent forms, by themselves and their parent/guardian.

Cash limitation

COO-L is a cash limited scheme. Therefore, Tower Hamlets Children's Services reserve the right to refuse any application made to the scheme on the grounds that sufficient funds are not available.