Funding doubled for childcare bursary scheme

Funding doubled for childcare bursary scheme

The first 200 applicants for a new Early Years bursary scheme will now be eligible for funding of £3000. The bursary was announced in June 2013 to support people who were looking to pursue a career in early education, and enabled applicants to apply for up to £1,500, with a further £300 available for more training.

The bursary has now been doubled to £3000 for the first 200 candidates to encourage more applications. There will be up to 1,000 bursary places in total available nationally, and Greater Manchester’s largest Apprenticeship provider, Skills Solutions, is encouraging young people interested in a career in early years education to consider the Apprenticeship route.

In January, in the publication ‘More Great Childcare’, the government said it aimed to build a stronger and more professional early years workforce with more rigorous qualifications.

The Apprenticeship bursary will be a transitional scheme ahead of the early years educator qualifications in 2014. The scheme will also seek to support the delivery of the early learning places for disadvantaged two-year-olds.

To be eligible, applicants will need to have an Apprenticeship position in a nursery or other provision that delivers the early learning places for two-year-olds and hold at least a GCSE at grade C or above in English and maths, to help ensure that a more skilled workforce delivers better quality early education.

Announcing the increase in funding, the childcare and education minister Elizabeth Truss said: “Caring for and educating young children requires great skills and specific experience. I hope the increased bursaries announced today encourage more talented people to start a career in early education, which can be a fantastically rewarding job.”

“Research shows that a third of children are starting school without basic language and communication skills – in poorer areas, this rises to more than a half.

Knowledgeable and experienced staff, such as the new Early Years Educators, will play a vital role in providing good quality early years education to ensure that all children – no matter what their starting point in life – develop the skills they need for learning.”

Apprenticeships are expected to last an average of 20 months. They will consist of employment and study to gain a recognised qualification through various routes.

Fiona Mellett, Chief Executive of Skills Solutions, said: “This can only be good news for the childcare sector in Greater Manchester and will encourage the high quality candidates we need to build a truly professional early years workforce. This added incentive for young people with good academic qualifications to look at childcare as a career path will benefit the sector, parents and children.”
Notes to editors

Skills Solutions, part of the not-for-profit Manchester Solutions Group, is the largest work based learning provider in Greater Manchester and one of the largest providers of Apprenticeships in the North West, working with over 1,200 employers directly generating Apprenticeship vacancies and looking after more than 2,500 learners on a variety of Apprenticeship and other programmes. Skills Solutions also provides programmes for young people who need additional support to achieve their career goals.

If people are interested in applying for the bursary, they should contact Jo McDonagh at joanne.mcdonagh@skills-solutions.org.uk or call 0161 233 2600.