DFE extends the bursary for EYTT for graduates with 2.2 degrees
The opportunity to apply for a bursary for Early Years Teacher Status has now been extend for those graduates with a 2.2 degree and the amount has been set at £2,000 This means more graduates will be eligible for the early years teaching training bursaries.
The decision for this is due to some courses not being able to recruit the numbers it needs. A big decision has been made to reduce the bursary amount paid for graduates will a first class honours from £9,000 to £5,000. Graduates with a 2.1 will still receive £4,000. However all graduates can apply for up £7,000 for course fees for EYTT training.
A Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘We are making a significant investment in the early years sector and have worked closely with the profession to help raise its status – and, as a result, salaries have increased, numbers of qualified staff have risen, and a record number of providers are rated Good or Outstanding.
‘The number of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and we want to see more trained graduates in these roles. That’s why we provide funding course fees and bursaries for eligible trainees, and are also supporting employers to help with their staff training costs. We continue to look at what more can be done to encourage talented staff to forge a career in the early years and this will be a key strand of our Workforce Strategy which will be published in 2016.’
This move will hopefully see a higher proportion of degree or higher qualified professionals in childcare settings. This is slowing on the increase but more could be done to incentive this to happen.
Many people who are qualified with EYTS are finding that the pay and condition are not in line with QTS, this is causing some frustrations as you can imagine.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said , ‘Given that the government is continuing to struggle to attract Early Years Teacher applicants – so much so that some courses are reportedly being forced to close – it’s not surprising that it has felt the need to extend the bursary scheme.
‘Despite the DfE’s insistence that Early Years Teacher Status is “equivalent” to Qualified Teacher Status, it remains nothing of the sort. EYTs do not benefit from the same terms and conditions, nor the pay, that their QTS peers enjoy, despite being required to meet the same entry requirements. It’s no wonder, then, that so many potential trainees are opting against this career route.
Will the extension of the bursary help with recruitment issues, fingers crossed it will.