Con Powell Scholarship
BATOD, on behalf of the Ovingdean Hall Foundation, administers the Con Powell Scholarship to provide bursaries for teachers wishing to train as a Teacher of the Deaf but whose LA or school is not obliged to support financially.
Con Powell was BATOD’s first President.
There will be up to five scholarships awarded every year. Applicants will have to show evidence of Qualified Teacher Status and full details of their chosen course provider including the name and number of the course and a provisional or full offer of a place, information about their current employment, a personal statement highlighting why they wish to undertake this training and that they understand the commitment required to complete the course, proof that their local authority or school is not obliged to fund their training (which they will be if the job involves teaching deaf children/young people) and evidence that they have tried to obtain funding elsewhere (for example a grant-making body or LA/Government. Finally they need to provide two referees. There will be an interview element to the process.
The Ewing Foundation will require that any successful candidate is a member of the professional organisation for Teachers of the Deaf, BATOD.
The Con Powell scholarship application period for 2022 is now closed.
Please note that the Con Powell Scholarship is currently only available to UK residents intending to study at one of the four course providers in England. Please note also that the situation is different in Scotland: there is no legislation, but there is policy. The Government is revising this guidance at the moment and this will strengthen the position of the postgraduate diploma routes.
Here is the current guidance:
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the regulations which state that Local Authorities/schools are obliged to ensure that any teacher working for them in the capacity of a Teacher of the Deaf acquire the mandatory qualification within three years? This of course includes the training fees and related costs such as cover for teaching placement.
The MQ has been in place since at least 1908 in recognition of the complexity of the role requiring specialist training.
The latest regulations (England) were revised in 2003 and are still fully operative. They can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/1662/contents/made (section 6) and say:
1] Statutory instrument 2003 No.1662. The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003: “A qualified teacher may be employed to teach a class of pupils who are hearing impaired, visually impaired, or both hearing and visually impaired if the head teacher is satisfied that the person in question is in the process of obtaining the relevant MQ and provided that the aggregate period for which the teacher teaches a class of pupils does not exceed three years.”
Incidentally, since these were revised in 2003 the government has made it clear that ToDs in services also should have the MQ even though it is not technically in the regulations as it applies to schools rather than services. Of all the three settings, schools for the deaf are the ones for which the regulations were originally designed.
The Code of Practice 2015 includes this: ‘Those teaching classes of children with sensory impairment must hold an appropriate qualification approved by the Secretary of State. Teachers working in an advisory role to support such pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification.’ Section 6.61
This information is also in the NDCS’ note on the role of specialist services.
Why is this relevant to the Con Powell Scholarship?
The purpose of the scholarship is to support those teachers who wish to train as a Teacher of the Deaf but are not working with deaf children. If the teacher is working with deaf children then the employer (LA/school for the deaf) is obliged to ensure that the qualification is acquired. The scholarship is not to be used to compensate for LAs who say they are not prepared to fund the training.
There has been a 17% reduction in the number of Teachers of the Deaf since 2011. This shortfall will only be solved by bringing in new teachers to take on the training and expand the pool.
Read about the experiences of past Con Powell students:
Sabine Crumbie shared her reflections of supporting deaf learners transition to further education.
Ryan Brewer described how the scholarship supported his journey to becoming a QToD.
If this option is not suitable for your circumstance read this page for further information on training as a Teacher of the Deaf.
