Please help! Student teacher bursary cuts- your signatures needed!

RhiRhiMajic

You may already know about the Government taking away the bursaries for this year's PGCE students. They've recently released a White Paper proposing, amongst other things, the reintroduction of bursaries from 2012. These bursaries will be on a sliding scale depending on degree classification and what subject but will be from £4,000 to £20,000.

Here's the proposals: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/t/training our next generation of outstanding teachers.pdf

And a link to the BBC article which sums it up: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13927702

I know that no bursary makes it extremely difficult for me especially with all the extra costs of resources and travelling up to 40 miles for placement, as well as rent, bills, food and so on. I worked all through my degree but it's just not possible with a PGCE really. There are people in an even more difficult position than me relying on that bursary. As I'm sure you will agree, this makes it very hard to have any money left at all after the necessaries, let alone be "moneysaving". The Government has said they'll give the bursary to those that did Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses because they did it to lead on to a PGCE and it would be useless without a PGCE, but what about people like who took an extra year to get experience in a school, something else that's useless if it doesn't go on to a PGCE? Or those who applied last October, before the bursary changes were mentioned, went to interview and got accepted on this extremely competitive course only to then find out months later that they would not be receiving a bursary.

Here's a link to the petition. I'd appreciate it if you could take two seconds to sign this, as we really need signatures to make changes happen. Whether someone is training this year or in the future, has already trained or just has an interest in the welfare of those training to be an integral part of out communities, we need to show the Government that it's not acceptable to treat trainee teachers in the way that they have this year. 100,000 signatures and this could go before the House of Commons for debate.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/162


After a successful campaign, those who have this year completed a SKE course WILL still receive a bursary this year. The campaign is continuing to push for the reinstatement of bursaries for all PGCE students, as in previous years. There are some students who will have bursaries in the country whilst their classmates won’t. This is surely unfair and clear for everyone to see, though it is something that has been litle publicised to those outside of an SKE course. The reinstatement of bursaries for those who have completed an SKE course this year shows that we have a good chance of achieving our aim but for this to happen, we need to join together to campaign for this change. There are members who have already got their bursary back who are now pushing forward for those that don’t.

All the teaching unions have been contacted, as have universities, asking them to forward the petition to their PGCE students. A few media people have also been contacted, who are interested in writing about this. So, if everyone works together, it's possible to get somewhere! So here's what needs to be done...

Firstly, there is a Facebook group which can be joined by those interested, for the latest news on the campaign.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/185142528191983/

Secondly, the petition needs more signatures. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/162 There's a simple link on there to share it on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so it can be shared by anyone willing to sign.

Finally, MPs need to be involved. They need to be made to campaign for us, not just accept the standard reply being recieved by the department for education. They need our votes, so we shouldn't feel bad about reminding them of that! If anyone interested would like to send a letter but don't have time to write one up, we've got one pre-written that you can just put your name and address on.You can download the letter here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37856076/MP letter.docx
And find out the email or postal address of your MP here:
http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/

ViolaLass

Won't students for this year also be able to apply for student loans and grants both for living expenses and for fees? I'm starting a PGCE this September and I've got a full loan and grant as well as my bursary. The bursary is nice but I could just about live on the loan and grant if I had to.

RhiRhiMajic

Yes, however the point is that we signed up to do this course, thinking we would be sufficiently supported financially, then they pulled the carpet from under our feet. If I had known this was going to happen I would have spent the last year saving. In addition, I have worked through my degree and just about got by, I'm really worried how I'll get by as I won't be able to work through my PGCE, plus I will potentially be travelling further and definately more frequently than I was in my degree. I know a lot of mature and/or independent students who have big financial responsibilities, and they are seriously going to struggle. A few people on other forums have written out their incoming/outgoing sums and the resulting figures are pretty scary.

It's great you're still getting the bursary, but hopefully you can understand and sympathise with the situation of students in other disciplines

wannabedebtfree_2

ViolaLass wrote: »

Won't students for this year also be able to apply for student loans and grants both for living expenses and for fees? I'm starting a PGCE this September and I've got a full loan and grant as well as my bursary. The bursary is nice but I could just about live on the loan and grant if I had to.

The loan and grant we get are the same as any other student doing their degree.

However, unlike most uni students as trainee teachers we need to buy professional clothing rather than just going in any clothes we happen to find in the wardrobe. I will be doing around 2100 miles in my car between now and xmas (40 days in my placement school and 20 uni days) costing around £320 (as long as fuel prices stay as they are - no possible way of using public transport - in a rural area), and that's just the first term :eek:. I don't know yet where my second placement is but I am lucky that they choose us placements as close to home as possible otherwise my fuel costs would have been much much more!

Yes the bursary would have been 'nice', it would have meant that I wouldn't have needed housing benefit. Honestly though, how would you have felt if you had accepted your place thinking that you were going to get that money to helps with costs and then been told 2 months later that the bursary was no longer available so that the government could save money, which for some people was too much of a drop in income and they have therefore had to decline their place. We then found out another couple of months later that next year they are going to more than double the bursaries for some graduates! Doesn't make sense to me at all, it's going to cost them even more so how was that money saving?!?!

melancholly

bit of an epic first post (i get that there's a lot of information) - the knub of the problem is that 2011 entry gets no bursaries, when 2010 PGCE students did and 2012 students will? that does seem unfair (but also seems far to late to do anything about it) and also very short notice so obviously a problem. i'm also amazed that it was changed after all the applications were in.... talk about shifting goal posts.....

my understanding is that 2011 entry funding consists of:

1. student loan for maintenance (£6928 max for London?)
2. student grant for maintenance (up to £2906? depends on household income)
3. bursary for certain secondary subjects (£6000 or £9000 for modern languages and science?)
4. student loan for fees (£3000ish?)

i'm not sure i'm at all convinced by an argument that PGCE students need more money for clothes..... £50 in Tesco, Asda, Primark or Sainsburys will buy more than enough suitable clothes. travel expenses do seem more legitimate. keep the argument as reasonable as possible as things like that allow it to be dismissed out of hand when it shouldn't be.

there are three options... work all summer to save up a buffer, manage on a tiny budget with the grant/loan or take a year out..... it's worth pointing out that this is the only form of postgraduate study that is funded.... so that's good.... i wouldn't have put it past this government to take it away altogether..... contact the uni you are doing your PGCE at to see if they have any extra funds (quite a few do seem to offer their own bursaries, although they seem to be in the order of £500, so not a huge amount but better than nothing). it's also worth remembering that student bank accounts usually allow an extension of the overdraft in your fourth year versus your third, so there will be a small amount of extra money there (plus it will stay interest free if you're still a student plus after graduation so there's no need to panic about that in the short term).

a tricky situation.... i doubt the petition will do anything (as protests across the UK made no difference for any other aspect of student funding) but it does seem very unfair.

RhiRhiMajic

Double post!

RhiRhiMajic

radiography wrote: »

...

Am I missing something here? Your situation seems really similar. As PGCE students, we have to buy hundreds of pounds worth of books each year, for both our own assignments and our students, as well as resources for activities, stationary (for ourselves and the students), clothing... we have a minimum placement of 32 weeks, as well as university attendance, both of which we have to pay public transport/petrol to get to. Our course runs late into June, some into July, so we're also stuck with extra weeks of accommodation. As mentioned in my first post, many PGCE students own/rent their own homes, not just student accommodation, so are in an even tighter situation.

The point of a PGCE is that, because we are either in uni, placement or a combination of the two for 39 weeks full time, we cannot work part time as many have had to do during an undergraduate degree.

From what I understand, the NHS funds places, so you don't have to pay tuition fees or rack up tuition fee loan debts like those doing a PGCE course. Also, surely you were also aware of the financial issues with this course before applying? The point is, we weren't. We accepted our places thinking we'd get the grants, then the goalposts were moved. As I said earlier on, if I'd known this would be the case this time last year, I would have been saving like a crazy person- however, as things stand, I've only managed to save a measly sum to help support myself.

I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm attacking you, but surely you can see we're in a similar position. I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you would join a forum just to post an attack on this cause.


In response to Melancholly- I'm in Wales, so not sure if it's the same in England but as I'm entitled to the full grant I only receive a small amount of the loan. Here, at least, it's sadly not a case of adding the full loan amount to the full grant amount

RhiRhiMajic

radiography wrote: »

...

Again, from what I understand, if you're not receiving the NHS bursary then it's because it's means tested and your/your parent's/your spouse's income is over the limit. Not all PGCE students are eligible to recieve the grant or most of the maintenance loan either. Again, a lot of PGCE students are mature/indepedent students who may have a spouse who earns over the limit alone so don't get any funding. I'm not saying it's a fair way to do it in either case, but you have the option of borrowing from parents. Nobody likes to do it, but you're doing so for your career. Many PGCE students have to take out bank loans, as again, they are responsible for themselves.

I was not trying to suggest that you were able to predict your bursary amount. I was merely suggesting that you probably knew before applying that you may get a reduced bursary due to income, or nothing at all, which was unfortunately the case. For us, we applied, went through interview and accepted our places, and were then told that the bursaries will be removed. I also resent you calling it 'free' money. The majority of the course is placement, where we gradually teach more lessons until we are teaching the timetable of a newly qualified teacher (alongside marking, lesson plans and other endless red tape, after school clubs, and masters-level asessed uni assignments). As far as we are concerned, that bursary was our well-deserved apprentice wage.

If you feel that strongly about your situation as a radiography student, might I suggest doing a similar campaign rather than attacking ours? I would be more than willing to sign the petition should you choose to make one, as I do sympathise with your position.

The_One_Who

RhiRhiMajic wrote: »

As PGCE students, we have to buy hundreds of pounds worth of books each year, for both our own assignments and our students, as well as resources for activities, stationary (for ourselves and the students)

Why do you need to buy things for the students?! No student teacher ever bought me anything, and I doubt the situation is really that different north of the border.

wannabedebtfree_2

melancholly wrote: »

bit of an epic first post (i get that there's a lot of information) - the knub of the problem is that 2011 entry gets no bursaries, when 2010 PGCE students did and 2012 students will? that does seem unfair (but also seems far to late to do anything about it) and also very short notice so obviously a problem. i'm also amazed that it was changed after all the applications were in.... talk about shifting goal posts.....applications went in in September 2010, interviews started not long after that, and the announcement to withdraw the bursaries was made right at the end of February.

my understanding is that 2011 entry funding consists of:

1. student loan for maintenance (£6928 max for London?) £4493, because if you are entitled to full grant they take x amount off the loan, they don't just add the max loan on top of the grant unfortunately
2. student grant for maintenance (up to £2906? depends on household income) Yes, £2906
3. bursary for certain secondary subjects (£6000 or £9000 for modern languages and science?) Which means everyone else gets nothing:(
4. student loan for fees (£3000ish?) I haven't counted this as income as I don't see the money and it doesn't contribute to my household

i'm not sure i'm at all convinced by an argument that PGCE students need more money for clothes..... £50 in Tesco, Asda, Primark or Sainsburys will buy more than enough suitable clothes. travel expenses do seem more legitimate. keep the argument as reasonable as possible as things like that allow it to be dismissed out of hand when it shouldn't be. I do think allowing for clothes is reasonable, we are expected to look professional, and for most of us that means having to spend out on new clothes rather than use what's in the wardrobe, we also have books, classroom resources, etc to buy.

contact the uni you are doing your PGCE at to see if they have any extra funds (quite a few do seem to offer their own bursaries, although they seem to be in the order of £500, mine offers £344 which is paid in May 2012 if you are entitled to the full maintenance grant so not a huge amount but better than nothing). It definately is better than nothing it's also worth remembering that student bank accounts usually allow an extension of the overdraft I can't get a student account
a tricky situation.... i doubt the petition will do anything (as protests across the UK made no difference for any other aspect of student funding) but it does seem very unfair. It probably won't make a difference, but we can say we tried!

If the bursaries were being withdrawn full stop then I would accept that, but to reintroduce them next year with a sliding scale up to £20k just seems wrong.

To pay students bursaries according to what degree class they get is also wrong, I have a first class honours but I know for a fact that won't automatically make me a better teacher than someone with a 2:2, teaching isn't only academic ability.

The standard email response that comes back from the education secretary and local MP's shows that they haven't really thought it through properly, it goes on about how bursaries were introduced to attract people into teaching as a profession, and that with recent years levels of applications people don't need the incentive to want to teach. Which is true, I didn't apply for the financial incentives because at the end of the day I'm going to owe more than I receive! However, if the financial incentives aren't needed why reintroduce them after one year?

Sadly this year's cohort of student teachers and nurses are being used as spin so that the ConDems at the end of the year can say "Wow, aren't we amazing, we've saved £XXX'000's of the budget!". It's all total bunkum!

wannabedebtfree_2

The_One_Who wrote: »

Why do you need to buy things for the students?! No student teacher ever bought me anything, and I doubt the situation is really that different north of the border.

I don't think the OP necessarily means as gifts, but for students to use during lessons. It's amazing how many kids go to school without a pen or a pencil, and with school budgets also being cut so drastically they don't necessarily have their own stock.