Thank you for your request for information about the following:

‘I am interested in how the NHS supports its dental nursing staff to go into further education as mature students.

For nurses who started their first year studies in 2020, please would you tell me how many dental nurses each academic year i.e. 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 were awarded an NHS bursary to support them during their career break to study Dental Therapy and/or Dental Hygiene at University.

Please also state the average amount of the awards.

Please also state which NHS Trusts they worked for and which Trust supported the most nurses. For example Trust A supported ? students with an average award of £?? during the academic year 2020/2021.

Finally, how many of those students went on to join their NHS Trust as Dental Hygienists or dental therapists?’

[On 21 August 2023 we sent you the following clarification]

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any information concerning which NHS Trust a student is employed by, as we only hold information on what course a student attends and the amount of funding they receive.

We can provide the number of students who received funding under the NHS Learning Support Fund scheme, as the NHS Bursary no longer applies to students on Dental Hygiene and Therapy courses, for the academic year 2020 onwards, along with the average amount of funding if required.

[On 21 August 2023 you clarified your request as follows]

‘thank you, I was not aware of the learning support fund scheme, yes, this information would be very helpful.

would you be able to say how many nurses received this funding year by year too?’

Your request was received on 15 August 2023, with clarification received on 21 August 2023, and I am dealing with it under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

A copy of the information is attached. Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

The average amount of funding per student includes all elements of funding that can be claimed for, i.e., training grant, parental support allowance, specialist subject payment, travel and dual accommodation allowances (TDAE) and exceptional support fund (ESF).

The average amount of funding for the 2022/23 academic year, does not reflect the true average amount as there are still students on cohorts who will have not been paid their full entitlement for the year, i.e., any student who started their course on or after January 2023, who will still be due a Term 3 payment, and potentially any additional allowances (TDAE or ESF) during this period.

1. The data includes students who are on Dental Hygiene, Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy courses.

2. The data also includes students across all branches of nursing including, Adult Nursing, Child Nursing, Learning Disabilities Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Dual Registration nursing courses, combined Nursing and Social Work courses and Nursing Associate top up courses.

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