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Guidance and Key Dates for NOREMIDSW Eastern Region Bursary Placements and Allocation Process for Placements from September 2026.
Bursary allocation process overview
This page sets out the agreed process and timeline for allocating bursary-funded placements for Trainee Educational Psychologists (TEPs). It sets out the roles, responsibilities and deadlines to ensure a shared understanding of the process.
By offering a bursary-funded practice placement, Placement Providers are agreeing to meet the requirements of the Department for Education (DfE) Educational Psychology Funded Training (EPFT) scheme, as set out in the Practice Placement Partnership Framework (PPPF) guidelines. This includes:
providing a range of experiences appropriate to the trainee’s level of training; and
ensuring appropriate professional supervision throughout the placement.
Offering Placements Through Consortia
For consistency and equity across the allocation process, Placement Providers are requested to offer placements only through the consortium in which their service is based. A cross-consortia allocation process operates to ensure that any Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP) who is eligible for an out-of-region or cross-consortium placement is fully considered as part of the overall allocation arrangements.
How Placements Are Allocated
Matching trainees to bursary-funded placements in Local Authorities is carried out within each NOREMID-SW region.
Allocation decisions are made by a regional placement panel, comprising:
Principal Educational Psychologists (PEPs) and/or other representatives from the regional placement provider group; and
University tutors from the relevant regional HEI training provider(s).
Panels consider placement availability alongside trainee eligibility and preferences when agreeing provisional allocations.
UEA Placements and Year 3 Planning
All UEA placements are normally assumed to be two-year placements (Year 2 and Year 3). However, there are occasional circumstances in which an alternative arrangement may be required. During the Spring Term of Year 2, trainees must notify the Programme Directors (PDs) of one of the following:
their intention to submit a placement preference form for Year 3; or
confirmation that they and their Placement Provider have agreed that the Year 2 placement will be extended into Year 3.
This information is required to support timely planning and allocation for the following academic year.