The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme is available to students studying an accredited secondary postgraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme enabling them to teach through the medium of Welsh or Welsh as a subject, leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
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Overview
The Welsh Ministers have powers under sections 14 to 17 of the Education Act 2002 to provide financial assistance for the promotion of the recruitment or retention of teachers or non-teaching staff.
It is a legal Scheme made by the Welsh Ministers. The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive has been available since 2018 and supports the Cymraeg 2050 Welsh language strategy, the Welsh Government’s ambition to increase the number of Welsh teachers and the target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
The Scheme makes provision for secondary postgraduate ITE students, studying their accredited ITE programme through the medium of Welsh or training to teach Welsh as a subject to access these incentives.
Students undertaking eligible ITE programmes prior to 2018 are not covered under these schemes.
Students and ITE providers must reference the appropriate legal scheme linked to the year of study to check eligibility. If you have any questions related to previous years please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales
How claims are administered
The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentives are administered by the Welsh Government and an application should be made by the student directly to the Welsh Government. However, ITE partnerships and induction schools have a vital role to play in supporting eligible students to claim within the allocated timescales.
Full details of legal schemes, eligibility criteria, funding, how to claim, payments and grant recovery is available for students, ITE partnerships and induction schools.
Responsibilities and how to claim grant payments
Students will only be able to claim the grants under a legal scheme if they provide the relevant documents to the Welsh Government within the appropriate timescales. Students are responsible for ensuring that all forms are completed appropriately and sent electronically, in a PDF format and a safe and secure manner to Welsh Government via ITEIncentives@gov.wales within the allocated timescales. It is the students responsibility to ensure safe receipt of emails.
Students and induction schools should retain copies of claims and emails sent to Welsh Government for their records.
If documentation is not received by Welsh Government in full or is received outside the allocated timescales payment will not be made. Full information is available to support students applying and claiming for grants.
Guidance for students and ‘how to’ guides are available to support students eligible to claim and should be read in full prior to completing any documentation.
ITE Providers responsibilities
ITE Providers should identify eligible students under this grant and direct students to Welsh Government information and claim forms relating to this incentive.
ITE Providers are required to submit an authorised signatory list each year to Welsh Government. Welsh Government will request this information directly from ITE providers and all information must be returned before 1st June in readiness for the student’s first claim.
Authorised signatories must complete a declaration on the student QTS claim form to confirm that a student is eligible to claim this incentive. If this information is not received students will be unable to claim their first payment.
Eligible students are required to submit a Registration form to the Welsh Government by 31 March of the year of study. It is the student’s responsibility to check with their ITE provider to ensure they are eligible to claim this grant and the provider has confirmed eligibility to Welsh Government.
If you have any questions about the process or your responsibilities under this incentive scheme, please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales.
In previous guidance we reference a vendor details form, this has been replaced by a registration form. Previously submitted vendor details form will be accepted. A vendor details form submitted after April 2022 will not be accepted.
Induction schools responsibilities
To claim the second payment the Welsh Government require an induction claim form along with a copy of a student’s Induction certificate issued by the Education Workforce Council.
Head teachers, Deputy Head teachers or Heads of Department of the school where induction took place are required to sign a declaration on the induction claim form to confirm that the eligible NQT has successfully completed induction in their maintained Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary school or by teaching Welsh in their maintained secondary setting in Wales.
The documentation for the second claim should be submitted on behalf of the student by the Head teacher, Deputy Head teacher or Head of Department, who signed the declaration, on behalf of the school where induction was undertaken. The claim form and copy of induction certificate should be submitted electronically in a secure way to the Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales within one year of a student successfully completing their induction period or payment cannot be made.
It is the NQT’s responsibility to ensure this has been done.
Claims will not be paid if the induction school has not provided confirmation of NQT’s eligibility.
When can a student expect to receive the grant payments
Students should receive the grants payment within 10 days of Welsh Government receiving a fully completed claim form and all supporting documentation. If a student has not received confirmation or receipt as stated in the 'How to claim' grant payments section they should resubmit the forms or contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales
Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Information which student submits as part of their claim under the Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive scheme, is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “FOIA”), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the “EIR”) the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 (the “DPA”).
Students also acknowledge that the Welsh Government is responsible for determining in our absolute discretion whether:
- to disclose any information which we have obtained under or in connection with the Funding to the extent that we are required to disclose such information to a person making a disclosure request under the FOIA or the EIR and/or
- any information is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA or the EIR
- to undertake checks for the purposes of preventing fraud and money laundering, and to verify your identity. These checks are require to process personal data about you to third party fraud prevention agencies
Welsh Government is the data controller for the personal information it receives. Any personal data we collect will be managed in accordance with our privacy notice and our 'Privacy notice: Welsh Government grants'.
Further questions?
Full information for students related to the Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme is available on our guidance for students page.
If ITE Providers, induction schools or students have a question related to or not covered in this information, please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales