Supporting students as they start the 25/26 academic year
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-28)

Steven Darling, Director of Customer Experience, offers advice to help students get ready for payment

This is an exciting time of year for students, especially those who are about to begin their first year and take the next major step in realising their potential.

Many soon to be students up and down the country are preparing to move to a new town or city, meet new people, and for some, live independently of their parents for the first time and SLC is proud to play a role in supporting people through this exciting time in their life.

Enabling opportunity through the provision of student finance is what we’re all about at SLC and over the next few weeks, we’ll be paying out more than £2.2 billion in Maintenance funding to support students as they begin the 25/26 academic year.

I’m delighted that so many students took our advice and applied early. This has helped us get payments ready for over one million students, and once we receive confirmation that they have enrolled on their course from their college or university, payments will be made to students.

If anyone still hasn’t applied, I’d urge you do so now. We won’t be able to provide late applicants with their full entitlement immediately, but we will do all that we can to provide the minimum Maintenance Loan payment in the first instance, which we can top up once we fully process their application. More information is available here: How to get your first payment if you’re applying late - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-get-your-first-payment-if-youre-applying-late)

This is a busy time, and we want receiving payments to be straightforward so I’m sharing SLC’s top tips for students to help them get ready for payment.
- Remember, payments can only be made once you’ve enrolled and your university or college has confirmed this to us.
- If you enrolled right on or immediately prior to your estimated payment date, this will change but don’t worry, just keep an eye on your online account and we’ll reschedule your payment date as soon as we’ve heard from your university.
- An important one ……check your bank details are accurate and up to date in your online account!
- Look out for the text message we send to let you know your payment is on the way. At this time of year, students can be targeted by scams – tips on how to stay safe can be found here (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/phishing-scams-how-you-can-avoid-them)
- Check on the status of your payment at any time via your online account.
- Check out what we offer on our websites and social media channels, including FAQs, videos, and more. Follow Student Finance England at facebook.com/SFEngland (http://www.facebook.com/SFEngland), x.com/SF_England (https://x.com/SF_England) or Instagram at studentfinance_england (https://www.instagram.com/studentfinance_england/)
- Our contact centres can get busy at this time of year, so it’s best to explore self-service options first.
The start of the academic year is an important milestone, and I’m proud of the role SLC plays in supporting the education and career aspirations of students across the UK. On behalf of everyone at SLC, I’d like to wish all new and returning students the absolute best for the 2025/26 academic year.