D&T Bursary Raised for 2024
Published 11th October 2023
Many will have seen the extensive lobbying work which has been undertaken at the Association in response to the Education Policy Institute (EPI) Paper ‘A spotlight on D&T education in England’. This paper collected secondary research and presented a dire picture of the subject’s current position nationally.
The Vision Paper, entitled ‘Reimagining D&T,’ was drawn up in response after a series of face-to-face and online teacher consultations across the UK. Teacher feedback helped to outline key proposals, recommendations, and calls to action from the Department for Education.
One of the key proposals from our consultations was for the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursary to match other STEM subjects, establishing incentives for industry professionals to transition into teaching design and technology.
This was further called for at a recent appearance before the Commons Education Select Committee on the 12th of September where our Director of Education, Ryan Ball presented the enduring struggles of design and technology (D&T) teachers to MPs. The committee, as part of its ongoing inquiry into teacher recruitment and retention, received crucial insights into the challenges faced by D&T educators. Ryan outlined a number of issues including the increase of non-specialists teaching D&T due to staffing shortages.
One key aspect raised was to see the bursary for D&T be increased to keep in line with other subjects as D&T currently grapples with recruitment difficulties (See video).
Post-graduate ITT recruitment for Design and Technology has been below the target the Department for Education has set since 2015/16 and substantially below 50 per cent most years.
Bursary raised
Yesterday we were pleased to see the Department for Education announce that existing bursaries for design and technology will be raised to £25,000 for 2024-2025. This supersedes the recent rise in 2023 to £20,0000 from an initial figure of £15,000 and complete removal of the bursary just a few years ago. You can see the full announcement from the DfE here.
This is a great result and a definite step in the right direction.
Our CEO Tony Ryan comments, "I am delighted to see this increase in the bursary figure available for D&T trainees from 2024. Statistics suggest that this bursary figure matters and should lead to increased numbers of trainees next year. Whist the Association is not claiming that the Government has acted as a result of our lobbying, but we like to think that we have at least helped to influence thinking, which, of course, is one of the key roles of any professional Association."
Still a long way to go
Whilst this is a positive move forward, there are still a number of hurdles to tackle to ensure the preservation and growth of the subject.
There was significant discussion at the Education Committee into the need for reevaluating the perception of D&T as a subject. Ryan expressed concern over the legacy view of D&T, support with class sizes and financial investments for budgets and teacher CPD to ensure the delivery of the subject. These investments are crucial for procuring the materials, equipment, and technology necessary for delivering a robust curriculum.
Links
Education Committee - Tuesday 12 September 2023
DfE announces £196m to recruit more teachers
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