National Scholarship Fund for teachers and special educational needs support staff.

The Department for Education recently announced details of the third round of the National Scholarship Scheme to support the professional development of teachers and special educational needs support staff. The announcement stated that:

“Teachers and special educational needs (SEN) support staff will be able to bid for funds from the scheme worth up to £2 million to deepen their subject knowledge and develop their skills.

For the third year running, teachers can bid for up to £3,500. For the second year, SEN staff can bid for up to £2,000.

The application window, which opens for 3 weeks from 8 April, will offer funding to teachers in the 4 priority subjects of English, mathematics, science and SEN.

…….. The outcome of the third round of scholarships will be announced on 22 August 2013. The awards will be made on the recommendation of an expert panel of eminent educationalists who will verify the assessment of applications.

Round 1 and 2 of the National Scholarship Fund for teachers is based on the following criteria:

  • priority subjects/specialisms: mathematics, English, science and SEN
  • support from school: teachers were required to demonstrate support from their school in terms of accessing resources and being able to carry out activities within and outside the school
  • level and type of scholarship activity: the majority of scholarships were awarded to teachers who were pursuing knowledge independently to master's level and beyond, but other highly valued continuing professional development activities were also included within the fund, such as subject specific seminars, where their benefit and impact could be demonstrated

To qualify for a scholarship SEN support staff have to:

  • work in an eligible school in England
  • spend at least 50% of their contracted time supporting pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities in learning based activities
  • have achieved qualifications equivalent to, at least, full level 3 or hold higher level teaching assistant status”.

http://education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00221732/national-scholarship-fund-launched (Department for Education press notice accessed 28.2.13)

You can access the 2013 application handbook here: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/AllPublicationsNoRsg/Page1/TA-00017-2013

The Institute of Education at the University of Worcester will be pleased to support those interested in applying for a scholarship. There is a good range of masters level modules from which to choose, including those focussing on SEN.

For more details please contact cpdeducation@worc.ac.uk.

For advice on applying for a scholarship please contact Dr Stephen Parker by emailing s.parker@worc.ac.uk.