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Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund

Elizabeth Nuffield FE Grants

Tue, 5 June 2007

Fifteen Colleges of Further Education nationwide have been awarded a total of £246,000 by ENEF for the 2007/08 academic year. The money will be used to help women studying on Access and other level 3 courses via Elizabeth Nuffield FE Grants, worth up to £1,000 each. ENEF has appointed an FE Co-ordinator to manage the scheme during its first year.

Photo from www.JohnBirdsall.co.uk
Background
In 2005/06, ENEF ran a pilot project with five inner London Colleges of Further Education in order to help women studying at level 3 who had experienced unanticipated financial difficulties arising from changed circumstances that might have prevented them from completing their courses successfully. The maximum grant available through the Elizabeth Nuffield College Discretionary Fund was £1,000, and the average given £500. At the end of the pilot, the 150 beneficiaries of the Discretionary Fund were asked to complete a questionnaire describing the reason for their request and telling of their future work/study plans. Needs varied (e.g. loss of accommodation, breakdown of childcare arrangements) but frequently arose as a result, whether directly or indirectly, of relationship breakdown. An overwhelming majority of award-holders (98 %) went on to complete their course successfully and reported that they would not have been able to continue their studies without the extra financial support. 81% plan to continue their studies at a higher level.

Elizabeth Nuffield FE Grants
The Government is currently targeting FE funding on courses at levels 1 and 2 to support the acquisition of basic skills by the UK workforce (see Leitch Review of Skills, December 2006). Consequently, funding at level 3 – the ‘gateway’ to higher education – has been greatly reduced. A significant number of women applying for ENEF HE grants (37% of nursing/midwifery students between March 2006 and March 2007) had been offered their place at university on the strength of having passed an Access course. ENEF is concerned that lack of support at this level is likely to see a drop in the numbers of women able to continue their education to professional level, and thereby improve their employment prospects. Following evaluation of the FE pilot project, therefore, the ENEF Committee has decided to commit £246,000, over half the Fund’s 2007 budget, to establish a programme of Elizabeth Nuffield FE Grants. Fifteen Colleges of Further Education across the country have been selected from amongst the 67 who were invited to bid for funding. They are:

City College Birmingham
College of North East London (CONEL)
Cornwall College
Kensington and Chelsea College
Leicester College
Lewisham College
Manchester College of Arts and Technology
Newcastle College
Newham College of Further Education
Richmond Adult Community College
South Thames College
Southwark College
Sutton Coldfield College
The Sheffield College
Warwickshire College

The programme will be run along similar lines to the pilot project: Colleges will administer the FE Grants, guided by Ann West, ENEF’s FE Co-ordinator, who will also keep the Committee informed about the changing landscape in FE. The programme will run for three years in the first instance and will be evaluated annually.

Outcomes
Recipients of the Elizabeth Nuffield FE Grants will be required to complete a questionnaire at the end of their course, modelled on that used in the pilot project. These will be assembled by the Colleges and passed to ENEF with their final reports in the Autumn of 2008. Findings will be shared with the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council, in addition to being used by used by ENEF to shape its future policy.

Last Updated Tue, 5 June 2007