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<p>The National Scholarship Fund was introduced in 2011 following a commitment in
the Importance of Teaching white paper to encourage teachers to deepen their subject
knowledge. This year the priority subject area was special educational needs.</p><p>In
round two, the National Scholarship Fund was expanded to include a scholarship for
special educational needs (SEN) support staff to undertake a SEN related course or
activity. There were 493 applications from SEN support staff and in round three of
the National Scholarship Fund there were 225 applications from SEN support staff and
in this year’s round (round 4) there were 215 applications from SEN Support Staff.</p><p>Of
the £1 million made available for teachers and SEN Support staff in the National Scholarship
Fund 2014-15, £792,652.63 was offered to applicants as awards.</p><p>Scholarships
will only be awarded where applications are judged to be of sufficient merit. This
will determine the number of scholarships awarded. We sought the assistance of colleagues
from the sector to form an expert panel to judge the applications. The panel interrogated
and ratified the internal assessment process. As impartial educational professionals
they brought particular and relevant expertise to the process. They acted as independent
external verifiers to ensure the rigour and consistency of the assessment process,
and to endorse the scholarly nature of funded development activity.</p><p> </p>
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