graduate leader fund

[Burstingattheseams]

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this fund? We have an EYP leader at our preschool and would like to keep her, but her salary seems so low compared to what she could be getting - thought this fund was designed to help us but can't find out how to gain access to it. Any thoughts appreciated.

Yes, our EYP leader gets it, I think it's £5k per year guaranteed to 2011. We as a pre-school get it but pay it to her as, like you, we think her salary is low compared to what a teacher would get. We have put it in her contract that it is only payable whilst we get it iyswim.

I have no idea how you access it but we have a committee meeting tonight so will try to find out!

Will let you know.

Right, head spinning now from meeting. I'm sure non committee members think we sit around planning the next coffee morning for hours, little do they know what goes into running a pre-school!

Anyhoo, our EYP leader fund is paid by our county council, (Devon county council in our case). Apparently if you go onto your county council's web-site it should say about it on there. It used to be called the transition fund so it may still be called that.

Excellent Helennn - thank you I shall trawl through DCC's website (don't worry we are also a devon preschool!!!) I shall look for transition fund though rather than graduate funding - we're so behind the times down here!

Just in case i can't find anything- do you know if they put any conditions on you? ie are you full day care?

Hi Bursting - sorry, I've only just come back to this.

How have you got on? Sadly, (as in, I really should know), I don't know what conditions are placed on this. We offer full day care for 4 days a week, but not on a Monday, so not sure if this counts. I know we received £8,000 in March, with £5,000 going to the leader as salary.

I find there is just so much involved in running a pre-school you can't know everything about everything iyswim?

thanks Helen - I have finally tracked down all the info I think we need to apply - but you would think I have been trying to take the money directly out of the pocket of the admin lady I've been dealing with - it has been SUCH hard work just getting the application form! There are also ALOT of hoops to jump through but I figure we can just fill in the form and they can decide if we fit!!!! :-)

Thanks for letting me know. Our leader found out about it all as far as I know, no wonder really as it was in her best interests.

Out of interest, we pay our leader £5k pa out of it less the employers NI we have to pay on it. The other £3k is used for our Forest Schools programme.

All pre-schools have to have a level 6 qualified leader in place by 2015, so would have thought it would be in pre-school workers interests to train for this qualification as they will be much sought after after 2015, although don't know what happens about their pay when the graduate leader fund runs out.