Regulation 6 Eligibility for bursaries and grant

A qualified teacher is eligible for a bursary and grant in respect of approved training in which he begins to participate or commits himself to participate—

A classroom assistant who is employed in a relevant school is eligible for a bursary and grant in respect of approved training in which he participates, or commits himself to participate, in any year in which he is awarded a National Teaching Award.

The requirement mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is that he has completed not less than three nor more than five years service as a teacher on 1st September immediately preceding a year in which he participates, or commits himself to participate, in approved training.

For the purposes of paragraph (3) a teacher has completed a year of service if on 1st September he has completed periods of employment as a teacher in a school (including an independent school or an MOD school) or by an Education Action Forum, or in the case of a teacher training in another State in the European Economic Area, periods of employment as a teacher within that area, amounting to at least twenty-six weeks in the aggregate within the previous twelve months.

For the purposes of paragraph (4) a period of employment runs from the beginning of the week in which the employment commences to the end of the week in which the employment is terminated, including any holiday periods and any periods of absence from work in consequence of sickness or injury, whether the teacher’s service during that period has been full-time or part-time or regular or otherwise.

Where a teacher is absent from work in exercise of her right to maternity leave conferred by section 71 or 73 of the Employment Rights Act 1996^f1 or conferred by her contract of employment or because of her pregnancy and has the right to return to work by virtue of the said section 71 or 73 or by virtue of her contract of employment, or where a teacher is absent from work in exercise of the right to parental leave conferred by section 76 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the period of absence shall count towards the period of service of at least twenty-six weeks referred to in paragraph (4).