Education for Health Logo

The Athenaeum
10 Church Street
Warwick
CV34 4AB
Email


Charity Reg No: 1048816
Company Reg No: 3090774

Chairman: Dr Jonathan Shapiro
MA (Cantab), MB, ChB, MRCGP

Funding & Sponsorship

The Route to Success - How to source funding and sponsorship

You've chosen Education for Health as your training provider, identified the course you wish to study and planned how to squeeze those extra hours into your day whilst juggling work and home life.

The application form is on the kitchen table ready to be signed, sealed and delivered but there is that final hurdle, money.

We often receive requests from individual students asking for help and advice on where they can source funding for their training.  In response to this we have put together a few hints and tips which you might find useful:

Student Funding (GP Practice, NHS Trust or PCO)

If you are based in the community you may be funded/part funded by your employer/Primary Care Organisation. A completed application form must be accompanied by a cheque(s) made payable to ‘Education for Health ’. A detailed receipted invoice will be sent out when your place is confirmed.

If funding is pledged by an NHS Trust/PCO, Education for Health requires written confirmation from the Trust/PCO, naming the student(s), the pledged amount of funding, full details of whom to invoice and the full invoice postal address. Once this has been received, along with a completed application form, the place and date will be confirmed.

Currently, there is no standardisation across the country of who is responsible for local funding for education and training courses. It is important for you to find out who fulfils this role in your area.

Download FREE Toolkits - How to present and win your case for education
Over half a million UK patients with respiratory disease may be getting the wrong diagnosis and care, according to the findings of a national survey conducted by the Charity Education for Health.

The survey highlights the need to invest in nurse education and to support this we have launched some FREE downloadable toolkits called ‘How to present and win your case for education’. We will be featuring a series of these toolkits for long term conditions over the coming months.

Educational Bursaries

There are a number of pharmaceutical companies that may be able to offer educational bursaries to attend Education for Health modules/short courses. These bursaries usually comprises a percentage of the full fee. It is important to liaise directly with your local representative where possible however, the addresses of company headquarters are listed in both BNF and MIMS if required.

The Pharmaceutical Industry

To request funding from pharmaceutical companies, we have put together some hints and tips which may help you in your quest for money.
For full details, sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter and check out our e-Newsletter archives to access the 'Hints & Tips' article.

80-100% Sponsorship for respiratory training - book now...

Educational bursaries are often provided by pharmaceutical companies to part fund training courses and study days for individual students.  In January 2006 the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the official trade association for the industry in the UK, issued a new Code of Practice for its members. abpi_logo

The new Code was introduced to help control the promotion of prescription medicines in the UK.  One of the provisions within the code covers guidance to member companies who wish to fund medical and educational goods and services (which includes training) for healthcare professionals.  It is important that members are seen to work in a responsible, ethical and transparent manner and comply with the code.

As a result many pharmaceutical companies carried out thorough reviews looking at the way they work with healthcare professionals.  There may be slight differences amongst members as to how they have interpreted the Code but most seem to have now issued internal corporate guidance to their work force to ensure they are ABPI compliant.

PCT Funding

For further information regarding PCT funding please contact:
Tel: +44 (0) 1926 493313
Email Enquiries

Other External Funding Sources

RCN Funding

The RCN administers awards and scholarships for nurses, midwives and health visitors and health care assistants for study, research, travel, conferences etc. Brief details are given below but more information can be found on the RCN website

Hettie C. Hopkins Care of the Elderly Nursing Scholarship
RCN Welsh Board, Ty Maeth, King George V Drive East, Cardiff, CF4 4XZ. Tel: 029 2075 1373. Open to nurses in Wales who hold statutory qualifications in nursing and wish to pursue a project associated with the care of the elderly. Closing date: March 31 every year.

HSA Charitable Trust Health Care Assistant awards
For Health Care Assistants working towards S/NVQs at levels 2, 3 or 4. Awards of up to £250 are available for funding study days, short courses, or awarding body registration fees. Applications should be made on the appropriate form and may be submitted at any time during the year, but do apply well ahead of your proposed study/activity as it may take up to 8 weeks to process your application. For further details and an application form please send an SAE to:- The HSA Charitable Trust Health Care Assistant Awards, c/o Moira Lambert, Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN. There is a limit to the amount of funding available and not all applications will be successful so contact the RCN now. (For the purpose of this award a Health Care Assistant is taken to mean 'individuals employed by the NHS who assist nurses in their practice).

The Ethicon Nurse Educational Trust Fund
For members of RCN, NATN or ICNA to further their professional development and enhance the standard of expertise in their field. Funding can be used to support a wide range of activities from postgraduate education to conference attendance. Closing date annually 5 April. Forms available to download from February to March each year or to go on the mailing list for a form when available please telephone Fitwise on 01506 811077 or Email Lynn at Fitwise

Mair Scholarship
Funding for occupational health nurses in Scotland for projects, courses, study tours, research into occupational health nursing. Contact Jan Gorman on 0131 662 6160 or Email Jan Gorman

NW Practice Nurses Education Fund
Open to practice nurses in the NW region. Applications considered twice a year in May and September. Further details from RCN, Chesham House, St Georges Square, Bolton BL12HB. Tel: 01204 531531. Fax: 01204 531607

RCN Grants
Grants of up to £500 to assist RCN members to enhance their professional skills, knowledge and competence. Pre-registration nursing students in RCN membership are also eligible for these awards. Closing date: annually in August. Application forms available to download from here from mid June until mid August.

Rea Bequest Fund
Royal College of Nursing, Northern Ireland Board, 17 Windsor Avenue, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT9 6EE. Tel: 028 9066 8236. For RCN members working in Northern Ireland undertaking further education. Not available for Higher Education Awards (other than Conversion Courses through a University).

Guy's Hospital Scholarships - Educational Funding
If you trained or worked at Guy's Hospital you could be eligible for 2 sources of funding to support or supplement your studies.  For more information please apply to: The Scholarship Secretary, Guy's Hospital Nurses' League, West Wing, Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Street, London SE1 9RT.

Other awards are offered through membership of one of the RCN's National Forums and advertised in the newsletter of the relevant forum. Named contacts are available on 020 7409 3333 unless otherwise specified. To join one of the RCN's National Forums, please go to the forum section of their website.

Society of Occupational Health Nursing - Scholarships & Bursaries

Research society Marjorie Simpson new researchers award

Society of Occupational Health Nursing - Scholarships & Bursaries
Assistance to attend conferences
Eligibility: membership of RCN Society of Occupational Health.
Further details: Beverley Willie

Research society Marjorie Simpson new researchers award
Fees, accommodation and up to £100 travel costs for 3 new researchers to attend the Annual International Nursing Research Conference each spring.
Eligibility: Membership of RCN Research Society.
Closing date: last Friday in October
Details: www.man.ac.uk/rcn/research2007/marjsimpsonnew.htm

You may also wish to try the following potential sources of funding:

RCN's Research and Development Co-ordinating Centre

Information on research funding at: www.man.ac.uk/rcn/ukwide/ukrfund.html

RD info

Database listing over 800 funding sources and more than 2,000 awards for healthcare staff in the UK at: www.rdinfo.org.uk

Variety club children’s charity – Nursing awards

In 2000, Variety Club marked its 50th anniversary by introducing an innovative Children's Nursing Awards Scheme.

Through the scheme, we are able to provide vital training grants for paediatric nurses working with children in the UK as well as vital support to those nurses who would have been prevented from further study due to financial constraints. Each year we help nurses to improve their skills in specialist areas. As a result we are able to have a direct impact on the standard of healthcare for children in this country.

Application forms for applicants are made available each spring and can be downloaded from the variet club web-site: www.varietyclub.org.uk

The Florence-Nightingale Foundation

The Foundation raises funds to provide scholarships for nurses, midwives and health visitors to study at home and abroad, to promote innovation in practice, to extend knowledge and skills to meet changing needs.

The Foundation promotes the special contribution of nursing to society and to the health of people. It encourages international understanding and learning between nurses. 

Many different funds are available. Further information can be found on the foundation website: www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk

Post-graduate Funding

Research Council awards are available for post-graduate studies.  The Medical research Council (MRC) is the grant-awarding Research Council for Health related studies. Further information can be found on their web-site at: www.mrc.ac.uk

Funding for post-graduate study can also be obtained from UK Trusts, charities and foundations.  These are too numerous to list, but information can be found in The Grants Register (published annually by Palgrave Macmillian) and The Directory of Grant Making Trusts published annually by the Charities Aid Foundation.

Both of these publications should be available in your local library.

Or you can also try ...

  • Your employer.
  • Your local hospital/College of Nursing League of Nurses (eg King's College Hospital Nurses' League 0208 690 4244).
  • Your local RCN centre sometimes provides assistance.
  • Your local Training & Enterprise Council (LECs in Scotland) may offer Individual Learning Accounts providing £150 vouchers for learning and development (but not full-time courses). Varies across the country. Tel: 0800 072 5678.
  • Try contacting commercial companies whose products you use.
  • Voluntary bodies such as the local Rotary or Round Table.
  • Charities connected with your nursing speciality, e.g. British Heart Foundation, British Lung Foundation.
  • The Educational Grants Advisory Services (EGAS), Family Welfare Association, 501-505 Kingsland Road, London E8 4AU. Tel: 020 7254 6251. EGAS will sometimes help with difficulties with LEAs.
  • National Bureau for Students with Disabilities info line 0800 328 5050 or go to www.skill.org.uk