Any funding available for uni placements?

stephyt23

Hello, I am 26 and on a 4 year part time degree doing teacher training. I started in 2011 so was the last year of getting the fee paid for before all the fees went up and loans were introduced.

The only amount I get to help pay towards costs of the course is £265 a year from student finance.

Alongside my course I work 13 hours in a primary school although my hours are due to be reduced soon so I will have to return to working casual supply hours elsewhere.

I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere to get help with funding? I have a 7 week placement in October and only just scraped through the 6 week one earlier this year as it's a long time without pay. I may just get through this one again but close to Christmas will make it harder. The main cause for concern is the 12 week placement in my final year. 3 months with no pay is going to be very difficult for me and the other 4 people on my course who also work in schools as obviously weekend work isn't an option for us to keep a bit of income coming in.

A friend looked into getting hardship help last year but they would only pay her phone bill for her. I know some charities offer help which another friend had some luck with, however when I researched this the ones I found would only help those under 25.

dizzyrascal

Most degrees that have a teaching element to them get funding for the placement stage.
Can you explain a bit more about your degree. 4 years part time or 2 years full time is an unusual length for a degree unless it is a foundation level

stephyt23

It's a BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS degree. It's the same as the three year course that is full time except it's done over 4 years meaning less time in uni but a lot more independent study. The placements are full time and are the same length as the full time students. Obviously the main difference is that full time students get loans and larger grants to help them cover costs for things like placement.

dizzyrascal

So you are doing it over 4 years instead of three? How did this course come to be classed as part time? You are actually doing 90 credits a year. I am assuming you will achieve 360 credits at the end of 4 years?
If so, then I think you should be entitled to more funding assuming that you don't already have a degree.
What have people done on the course before you? Ask the college how people are usually funded, they should have a good idea.

dizzyrascal

I have had a look on UCAS and on GTTR and I can't find a course like the one that you describe. The only ones that look similar are "Top Up" courses where you either already a graduate or have done a foundation degree. In these cases the courses are usually full time.
There are a couple of courses that increase the qualification of a HLTA but these are usually done whilst working so placements would not be an issue.
Can you give us a bit more information about the course? Maybe it would be better to get funded and go full time rather than try to fit your placements in around your other work.

stephyt23

I have asked a 4th year who has recently graduated who was on a placement at the same time as me and she enquired at uni with her year group about funding. All we can claim is petrol costs back which I already knew about so it looks like I'll have to save as much as I can between now and placements.

I can assure you this is an undergraduate course at a university. I'm studying for a BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS degree. It is 4 years because I only study once a week in uni, the rest is self-study. It takes longer because of the way the course is set out but yes it's 360 credits by year 4.

Here is the link to the page which shows this can be done part time. The course isn't exactly the same as it changed in September 2012 so students now have to take a specialism in English, maths or science. Mine is in a different subject.

http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/study/courses/primary-english-education-with-qts

dizzyrascal

Hi
I was aware that Edgehill did flexible PGCE type courses along with Christchurch but as you will be aware, there are very few part time courses in teaching so it's a bit of an experimental area.
It doesn't matter how many days you spend at college, it is how many credits you gain per year to get funding. It would seem that you are doing 90 and 120 would be the norm to get funding but, as you are under the old funding system, it might be worth seeing if your current funding body can help.
Failing that, you can try for some charitable funding using this website http://www.studentcashpoint.co.uk/default.aspx
You may need to send off a lot of letters in order to get small sums back but it may help a bit. Most charities will look favourably on the fact that you are self funding and going into teaching