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<p>In order to bring together questions on the education and training of midwives
and the flow of staff into the National Health Service midwifery workforce, a number
of strands of the available data are presented below.</p><p>Data published by the
Office for Students, in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES),
collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication
of the number of students starting in each academic year. The HESES’ data includes
figures on undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest
published data is for those starting courses in 2023. The following table shows the
number of undergraduate and postgraduate starters on midwifery courses in England
for 2019 to 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p></p></td><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>2023</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Undergraduate
starters</p></td><td><p>2,930</p></td><td><p>3,460</p></td><td><p>3,565</p></td><td><p>3,305</p></td><td><p>3,255</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Postgraduate
starters</p></td><td><p>55</p></td><td><p>100</p></td><td><p>135</p></td><td><p>190</p></td><td><p>195</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source:
The Office for Students’ HESES data for 2023.</p><p>The following table shows the
number of qualifiers from undergraduate midwifery courses in England, with a qualifier
being defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as a student who gained
a qualification during the academic year in question, for the academic years 2020/21
to 2022/23:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Undergraduate
midwifery qualifiers</p></td><td><p>1,895</p></td><td><p>2,380</p></td><td><p>2,705</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source:
HESA’s qualifier data 2023</p><p>Note: Data is currently only available up to the
academic year 2022/23.</p><p>Additionally, there are midwives training through an
apprenticeship route. The following table shows the number of starts on midwifery
apprenticeships, including apprenticeships within NHS and non-NHS organisations, in
each of the last five years:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>2023/24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Starts</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>42</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source:
Department for Education Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics, October 2024.</p><p>Note:
Data on the provisional starts for the year 2023/24 is only available between August
2023 to July 2024.</p><p>The Department does not hold data which would allow the identification
of the route which joiners to the NHS registered midwifery workforce have taken to
become active in the service, or what these flows will be in future years. Data published
by NHS England does show the total annual number of staff who join active service
across NHS trusts and other core organisations. Joiners are not the same as those
recruited to the NHS, as they will include staff returning after breaks in activity.
Joiners will also include experienced midwives joining from non-NHS providers. Within
this data we can see the number who are joiners at Agenda for Change pay band five,
which is where newly qualified or less experience staff would be placed. Data also
contains the nationality of staff joining active service, and whilst self-reported
nationality is not the same as place of training or previous residence, it does provide
a guide to scale. The following table shows the annual number of midwives joining
active service in the NHS in England, as well as those joining at band five, and those
joining who reported non-United Kingdom nationalities, for each of the last five years
up until June:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year ending</p></td><td><p>June 2020</p></td><td><p>June
2021</p></td><td><p>June 2022</p></td><td><p>June 2023</p></td><td><p>June 2024</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Annual
midwives joining active service</p></td><td><p>3,242</p></td><td><p>1,845</p></td><td><p>3,320</p></td><td><p>3,883</p></td><td><p>4,278</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Joining
at band five</p></td><td><p>1,685</p></td><td><p>421</p></td><td><p>1,766</p></td><td><p>2,172</p></td><td><p>2,479</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Joining
any grade with a non-UK nationality</p></td><td><p>243</p></td><td><p>155</p></td><td><p>247</p></td><td><p>593</p></td><td><p>616</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source:
NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics.</p><p> </p>
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