Any midwives around?

[midwifeyNC]

Hi, I have a question about banding as I am a little confused and can't find a straight answer online.

I know that newly qualified midwives are a band 5, at what point do you move up to a 6? And what does this jump in bands entail? Do all midwives get a band 6 or not?

I start my training in September so I'm really curious!

Anyone!? I feel like I'll never find out the answer!!!

Hey.

It all depends on the trust you start work in. In mine its an 18 month progression; but it can be anywhere from 6-24 months depending on trust policy.

Best of luck with your training x

Definitely depends on the Trust. I'm a qualified mw but not practising any more. Where I trained we qualified straight onto band 6.

Yes depends on the trust and the length of preceptorship programme in the band 5 post. However even when you finish preceptorship it’s not Usually a quick transition the same month to a higher pay band, the NHS can be quite slow about these kind of things and it might be a few months. You are usually unable to join agency/NHSP/other hospital banks for a least a year after qualifying as well, as you will notice they advertise good rates of pay. Good luck with your training!

My trust is usually a year.

Ok thank you! That's probably why I couldn't find an answer as it's trust by trust.

The hospital I used to work at, you were hired directly as a band 6. There was no such thing as a band 5 midwife.
It might be different with different trusts etc

@midwifeyNC just out of curiosity what sort of funding are you getting? I've been looking into doing it but with a mortgage and a child I'm not sure I can afford to retrain.

@midwifeyNC I know the tuition is payed but I'm thinking about living costs ect. I know there's a 10k bursary but is that all you can get?

@edin16 I'd also be interested to know how bursaries etc affect tax credits, if at all?

@edin16 @CuriousKittyKat

I am in the same boat as you Edin, retraining (this is a second undergrad degree for me) and currently working full time with a mortgage to pay so felt like it would be impossible. I don't have any children yet mind you.

There is no 10k bursary to my knowledge? There is a 5k bursary called the learning support fund. If you have a child you get an extra 2k making it £7,000 and if you are facing extreme hardship you can get an extra £1,000. You do not have to pay this back, it is a grant.

One of the main reasons I didn't think I could do it was because I had already had my lot of student finance from my first degree. However i found out that if you do an 'exempt' course such as nursing or midwifery then SFE fund you regardless!

Obviously it depends on your circumstances but this year I will get my £9,250 tuition fee loan, £9,800 maintenance loan and £5,000 LSF bursary.

After working full time earning about £24k to having to leave my job to study and live off £14,800 will be tough but my mortgage and bills are paid and I'm hoping to get some bank work or atleast work a few hours a week somewhere in between studying.

It took me nearly 2 years to work out how I could actually manage to do this, but I've always wanted to be a midwife so I pushed myself to just take the leap in the end... I'm still bloody terrified though!

Good luck

@edin16 @CuriousKittyKat

I am in the same boat as you Edin, retraining (this is a second undergrad degree for me) and currently working full time with a mortgage to pay so felt like it would be impossible. I don't have any children yet mind you.

There is no 10k bursary to my knowledge? There is a 5k bursary called the learning support fund. If you have a child you get an extra 2k making it £7,000 and if you are facing extreme hardship you can get an extra £1,000. You do not have to pay this back, it is a grant.

One of the main reasons I didn't think I could do it was because I had already had my lot of student finance from my first degree. However i found out that if you do an 'exempt' course such as nursing or midwifery then SFE fund you regardless!

Obviously it depends on your circumstances but this year I will get my £9,250 tuition fee loan, £9,800 maintenance loan and £5,000 LSF bursary.

After working full time earning about £24k to having to leave my job to study and live off £14,800 will be tough but my mortgage and bills are paid and I'm hoping to get some bank work or atleast work a few hours a week somewhere in between studying.

It took me nearly 2 years to work out how I could actually manage to do this, but I've always wanted to be a midwife so I pushed myself to just take the leap in the end... I'm still bloody terrified though!

Good luck

Ours was linked to completion of competencies such as suturing, IV cannulation, having completed experience in all areas of practice so it was dependent on the individual.

Midwife here.

Band 5 to band 6 is a progression that happens after you’ve completed your preceptorship and had the required skills signed off.

So for me it was things like cannulation, having my suturing supervised, theatre recovery and scrubbing etc.

It takes 12-24 months roughly to get all this completed but as others have said the NHS isn’t quick about it and can delay putting you on the required training courses. Mine could have been completed 10 months earlier if my trust didn’t keep cancelling the one last study day I needed. Very frustrating!

Some trusts used to take newly qualified midwives on as a band 6 but I haven’t heard of that happening for a long time so almost certainly will start as a band 5.

Anything above band 6 is a promotion that you need to apply and interview for.

@lesbianmummies
Fab answer - thank you!