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If you take an undergraduate course of ITT in England
These courses do not automatically attract any special funding. From September 2006, students in England will be eligible for a non-means tested grant of £1,200 and can apply for an additional means-tested grant of £1,500.
Priority subjects in England are currently:
Your eligibility for such an award will be assessed by your university or college, but bear in mind that the amount you receive could vary significantly, and you are not guaranteed to receive anything.
If you take an undergraduate course of ITT in Wales
If you are an undergraduate training in Wales to be a secondary teacher, you may be eligible for a Secondary Undergraduate Placement Grant to support you during your school-based placement. These grants amount to £1,000 for trainees in priority subject areas and £600 in all other secondary non-priority subject areas.
This funding is provided through your ITT provider. Priority subjects in Wales are currently:
Hardship funding may also be available to provide a small grant where unforeseen difficulties arise and may prevent you from remaining on a course. And the Assembly Learning Grant (ALG), funded by the Welsh Assembly, provides extra money for students from low income families who may otherwise experience financial difficulty when undertaking further or higher education undergraduate courses.
You can apply for an ALG on top of a student loan and you don't have to pay it back until the end of the course. The grant only applies to students normally resident in Wales. From September 2006 there will be a means-tested maintenance grant, incorporating the ALG, of up to £2,700.
Your local authority will be able to give you further details of the ALG or see the Welsh Assembly Government website.
Other funding for undergraduates in England and Wales
In addition to funding specially provided for trainee teachers, depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to receive other generic support in the form of relief from paying the full amount of your tuition fees; a higher education grant of £2,700 from September 2006; and other sources of financial help such as childcare grants, disabled student allowances and access to learning funds.
Contact your local authority to find out what you might be entitled to, or visit the DfES student support website for full details of financial support available to undergraduates in England and Wales
If you take a postgraduate course of ITT in England or Wales
On 23 September 2005, the Welsh Assembly announced the package of teaching incentives available to PGCE students in Wales from September 2006. The new incentives package takes account of the fact that tuition fee finances in Wales are different from those in England and the value of individual incentives differ accordingly, however, the overall level of support available (the combination of incentives and funding toward tuition fees) is the same in both countries.
Visit the DfES student support website for full details of funding available for home students and how you can apply. Separate arrangements have been put in place for EU students. Please check the DfES EU website for full details of funding available to students from the EU.
In addition, eligible postgraduate trainee teachers are entitled to a tax-free bursary while they train, the value of which will depend on where you train, the subject you are training to teach, and when you start your course.
Training in England and Wales
Starting in Sept 2006, trainees in the following subjects receive £9,000 (£225 a week):
Trainees in all other subjects are entitled to £6,000 (£150 a week) .For details about bursaries in Wales for the academic year 2006/07 please go to the Welsh Assembly Government website
The Welsh medium incentive supplement
Trainees undertaking secondary ITT postgraduate courses in Wales and training through the medium of Welsh may also be eligible for the £1,200 Welsh Medium Incentive Supplement. This is aimed at trainees who need extra support to raise confidence in their ability to teach effectively through the medium of Welsh.
Decisions on eligibility for the Welsh Medium Incentive Supplement are made by the individual ITT providers involved in the scheme; information on courses that qualify for this supplement can be obtained from the ITT providers.
If you take an employment-based programme of ITT
Trainee teachers on the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), the Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) and the overseas trained teacher programme (OTTP, England only) all receive a salary from their school. This will be at least equal to the minimum point on the unqualified teacher pay scale, but your school may choose to pay you more.
In general, if you undertake an employment-based route into teaching in England, the TDA will pay your school to cover the cost of your training.
In Wales, state-maintained schools supporting a trainee on the GTP are eligible to receive a grant of £13,000 towards the cost of the trainee's salary and an additional grant of £4,000 to cover training costs.
Help and support
For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) offices or email info@atl.org.uk
For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).
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