Howard Catton
Head of policy, Royal College of Nursing
The problem of student attrition needs to be addressed not only because of the ambitions of the white paper, which shifts care out of hospital into the community, but also because we have an ageing nursing population. The factor that accounts for the current level of attrition, which is an average 25% [according to an RCN publication] or 16% according to the Department of Health estimate, is financial and the level of bursary is a big factor in that. They aren't quitting because they don't think nursing is the job for them. We want a more realistic bursary of £10,000. We don't want to move back to student nurses being employees, because, as I know from my training days, they'd be used to fill gaps and study time would get squeezed.
Sue Jacob
Student services adviser, Royal College of Midwives
We are campaigning for a £10,000 non-means tested bursary for student midwives. An early day motion supporting the campaign has already been signed by 118 MPs. We are committed to student midwives having a bursary rather than a salary because as higher education students their learning is protected. There is also the expectation of the public and the health service that midwives should be knowledgeable practitioners and should practise evidence-based and research-based care. This isn't about snobbery; there is a risk that if student midwives are salaried and have employee status they would become cheap labour if there were any staff shortages on the wards.
Jim Buchan
Professor in health workforce policy, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh
The profession took a long time to argue, and won the argument, that nurse education should move out of the hospital nursing school environment to the higher education sector. For there to be a reverse to student salaries would counter this argument around the professionalism of nursing. That is why the RCN wants to see the bursary increased rather than a move towards a salary and something like an apprenticeship. There is a strong argument about reviewing the level of bursaries, given the concern about high attrition. I don't think that individuals considering nurse education or a nursing career are hugely bothered about how they get the money. What is more important is whether the financial support is there through their education, and how positive and relevant their education experience is. If nursing education is to continue to be located in the higher education sector then nurses need to be regarded as students rather than as apprenticed employees, therefore bursaries are more likely to be the appropriate vehicle for delivering their financial support. The question then is the size of the bursary.
Gail Adams
Head of nursing, Unison (public sector worker union)
We believe the bursary system is one of the main reasons why students drop out of nursing now. The average age of entry to student nursing has gone up in the last few years and students on a bursary are put under enormous financial pressure. Unlike other students, they do not have the opportunity to earn extra money by working at weekends or in holidays because they are working on the wards on placements. We would like to see bursaries replaced with a salary - as in the 1980s. Being on a salary, which would have to be more than the minimum wage, would also give them employment rights.
Harry Fletcher
Assistant general secretary, Napo (the trade union for probation and family court staff)
About 20 years ago trainee probation officers received a grant, but over the years that has been converted to a salary, between £14,837 and £15,734. If you are coming from outside the service that is very much an incentive to join, but if you are an unqualified probation service officer seeking a professional qualification you will have to take a pay cut. Being on a salary does not deprofessionalise the service but the government's insistence on everybody working to targets does. It used to be that the training consisted of people working for two or three days a week with a limited caseload, then off to college for the rest of the week. Now most of the learning is done on screen as distance learning. There is the tendency to increase trainees' workloads, which could be seen as getting labour on the cheap.
Ian Johnston
Director, British Association of Social Workers
It used to be that student social workers had to be mature students to be eligible for a bursary, but that changed when the new social worker degree came in and the age barrier to a bursary was removed. The figures for entry into social work have gone up so we are not having the same experience as the nurses. The bursaries aren't really enough to support somebody who wants to change careers or has a mortgage or a family to support. But it is not just bursaries that attract students to social work, I think it's also because of the new degree. We would like to see more in-work support for trainee social workers or those with experience who want to go on to gain further qualifications. Some local authorities offer that but it is very patchy.
Rhonda Crockett
Former student nurse
I left my nursing diploma course after nine months for financial reasons. I was doing two part-time jobs but I still couldn't afford to live on that plus my £4,800 bursary while paying for childcare for my five children who were then aged between seven months and 11 years old. There was nothing in the bursary for childcare. My childcare costs alone were nearer £6,000 for the nine months. The size of the bursary makes me feel that they don't value us. Nursing recruitment targets mature students [Crockett is 37] because they want us to bring life experiences to the job, but as mature students we have bills, commitments and kids. Ten thousand pounds would make a huge difference. I could survive on that along with doing a couple of nurse bank shifts and it would get rid of all the anxiety. In the end it comes down to money, it doesn't matter to me if the £10,000 comes as a salary or as a bursary.
