The government is “missing a trick” and wasting money by refusing flexible loans for teachers who want to top up their PGCEs to masters degrees, according to university teacher-training providers.
New postgraduate loans of up to £10,000 are being introduced this autumn for potential students in any subject who want to study for a masters degree.
But the loans - to pay for tuition fees and living costs - are available only to those enrolling for an entire masters degree.
There is nothing available for those who already have masters-level credits through a postgraduate course, such as a PGCE, and want to convert it to a full masters through extra study.
James Noble-Rogers, executive director of the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers, said teachers with masters credits should also have access to the loans.
“The importance of CPD, especially for new teachers, has never been greater,” he said.
“It is essential that teachers are able to access funding to undertake the professional development that they need.
“It would potentially save the government money because if you didn’t do a full masters you wouldn’t borrow the money for a full masters, you’d borrow the money only to top up.
“A lot of teachers benefit from masters programmes delivered with schools, but because of this inflexibility around the loan scheme, the government is missing a trick by not allowing more teachers to benefit.”
David Weston, chief executive of the Teacher Development Trust, said support for study at masters level should be based on the potential impact on pupils.
“Public funding for study at masters-level can be a complicated issue because it can benefit teachers but it doesn’t always necessarily translate into benefit for pupils, so I would like to explore how we can benefit staff and pupils, while preserving the inherent value of study and scholarship,” Mr Weston said.
“It’s fantastically important to nurture a real depth of scholarship and knowledge in the teaching profession.”
The Department for Education declined to comment.
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