WIREDGOV

The Institute for Learning (IfL) will disburse fee grants to support more than 2,500 part-time teacher trainees entering their second year of initial teacher training (ITT) in September 2012. The trainees, who received a fee grant of £400 from IfL for their first year, will be eligible for a further £400 fee grant, also administered by IfL on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Details of the arrangement for IfL to administer the grant were confirmed in a written ministerial statement from the further education and skills minister, John Hayes, to the House of Commons on 27 March 2012.

The fee grants are separate from the bursaries announced in February, details of which were also included in the ministerial statement: £1,000 bursaries will be available for in-service and pre-service trainees seeking to follow a route accredited by a higher education institution; and applicants seeking to teach basic maths and English and following an HEI-accredited route may apply for £1,500 bursaries.

Toni Fazaeli, IfL’s chief executive, said, “Since the £400 ITT grants were introduced in September 2010, IfL has disbursed grants to more than 10,500 part-time teacher trainees in our sector, and we are pleased that those continuing into their second year will have additional support.

“We also welcome clarification about the new bursaries. IfL has long been calling for a bursary scheme for FE teacher trainees, especially in light of the higher education tuition fee increases, and our members see this as a priority issue. IfL made a strong case to the government for ITT grants for teachers on awarding organisation ITT programmes, as well as bursaries for ITT accredited by higher education institutions; we are pleased that our message was heard and that it influenced policy. It is reassuring to see the minister’s words about securing the talents and skills of potential FE teachers, because we agree that this is central to driving up standards and increasing professionalism in further education, a sector that is key to economic revival.

“We are still concerned, however, about tuition fee increases, and extremely concerned about the possibility that initial teacher training will become optional. We do not believe that this is in the best interests of young and adult learners in our sector.”