Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Priority Subject Incentive from 2023: guidance for ITE Partnerships

The ITE priority subject Incentive Scheme provides a £15,000 grant to students who are undertaking an accredited postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE). The programme must lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Students must be meet the eligibility criteria.

This scheme is available for both full-time and part-time programmes.

Students undertaking any employment-based teacher training scheme are not eligible for this grant. This includes the ‘Salaried PGCE scheme’.

Students undertaking training programmes which enable them to teach in the Post Compulsory Education and Training Sector (PGCE PCET) are not covered under this scheme.

The ITE incentive grants available reflect current recruitment priorities within the teaching workforce in Wales. They are available to eligible students on eligible postgraduate ITE programmes in Wales.

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. This grant is in place to encourage individuals to train, enter and remain in the teaching profession. They should not form part of a student finance package.

The Initial Teacher Education (ITE) priority subject Incentive Scheme is a legal Scheme (“the Scheme”). The Scheme is made by the Welsh Ministers in the exercise of their powers. The scheme is reviewed on an annual basis. Each Scheme makes provision for postgraduate ITE students, studying their accredited ITE programme in a specified subject access to these incentives.

ITE partnerships will be issued with a grant offer letter to support the delivery of this scheme.

ITE partnerships must refer to the appropriate:

• legal scheme
• grant offer letter
• Privacy Notice

linked to the year of study to check student eligibility and full scheme details.

Please refer to the appropriate scheme to the academic year of study to check eligibility and claiming criteria. If you have any questions related to previous years please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Under this scheme an incentive grant of £15,000 is available to all students who meet the eligibility criteria for the academic year of study.

Full-time students

The incentive payments totalling £15,000 will be made in three instalments, during a student’s ITE programme and early career:

• £6,000 in January following completion of the first term of their PGCE. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £6,000 in July or August on successful completion of their PGCE and award of QTS. Where a student is assessed by a resubmission exam board, payments will be made prior to 31 December. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £3,000 on successful completion of Induction in Wales. The Welsh Government are responsible for this payment.

Part-time students

The incentive payments totalling £15,000 will be made in four instalments during a student’s part-time ITE programme and early career:

• £3,000 in January following completion of the first term of their PGCE. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £3,000 in January following completion the first year and the first term of the second year of their PGCE.  ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £6,000 in July or August on successful completion of their PGCE and award of QTS. Where a student is assessed by a resubmission exam board, payments will be made prior to 31 December. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £3,000 on successful completion of Induction in Wales. The Welsh Government are responsible for this payment.

Updated claim forms should be submitted to the Welsh Government where a student is assessed by a resubmission exam board. This should be done by ITE partnerships. This should include individuals who are successfully awarded QTS to enable payments to be made before 31^st December. 

The exact dates of payments will be set out in the grant agreement terms and conditions.

ITE Partnerships are responsible for administering and assessing students’ eligibility for this incentive. They do this on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Students can only claim an incentive grant if they:

• meet all the eligibility criteria
• are studying on an eligible programme
• have made an application by completing the relevant registration form

Student registration forms for the scheme will be provided to partnerships from the Welsh Government.  

If students have any queries they should contact their ITE Partnership.

In-programme payments

In-programme payments should only be made to those eligible students who are continuing their ITE programme.  Students must have completed the specified term of in-programme study that a payment is due.

If any student has withdrawn or deferred (suspended) a programme prior to when the in-programme payment is due, payment should not be made. Please refer to the ‘deferment (suspension), withdrawal and resumptions’ section of this guidance.

QTS payment

The QTS payment should only be made to those eligible students who have completed an eligible postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS). If a student fails to achieve QTS, payment should not be made.

If any student has withdrawn or deferred (or suspended) a programme prior to being awarded QTS, payment should not be made.

Final incentive payment

The final incentive payment should only be made to those eligible NQTs who have:

• successfully completed their Induction period and been awarded an Induction certificate. This must be within three years, following award of QTS
• received all previous payments under this scheme

This incentive is administered by Welsh Government and on behalf of the Welsh Government by ITE Partnerships. 

ITE Partnerships are responsible for payments made in-programme and on award of QTS.

Welsh Government are responsible for the final incentive payment. This is paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate.   

Welsh Government are responsible for the terms and conditions of the scheme. Along with the collection of data to enable payments to be made to ITE Partnerships. 

ITE Partnerships are responsible for:

• identifying students that meet the eligibility criteria
• providing eligible students with access to the registration form at the start of the ITE programme
• ensuring students understand the terms of the grant
• collecting all signed registration forms and returning, in a secure manner, all forms to Welsh Government
• completing claim forms in line with in-programme payment dates (as detailed within the grant offer letter)
• completing claim forms in line with QTS award dates (as detailed within the grant offer letter)
• supporting students to complete Deferment and Resumption Forms as necessary.
• sharing forms in a secure manner, that complies with data protection requirements in force at the time, with Welsh Government along with relevant claims
• administering in-programme and QTS grant payments to students
• dealing with student queries in relation to the incentive scheme

Full responsibilities for ITE Partnerships are issued annually in individual grant offer letters and contract letters. ITE Partnerships should contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales. if they have any quires.

How the payment will be paid to ITE Partnerships

Each student should complete a registration form. The registration form contains information that the Welsh Government requires to administer and evaluate the scheme. ITE Partnerships must submit these to the Welsh Government at the start of each academic year in a secure manner. The registration form asks students to confirm that they have read and understood the information contained on the student guidance web pages. If this confirmation is not received by Welsh Government, grant payments cannot be made.

ITE Partnerships must complete and submit claim forms to the Welsh Government. This will ensure appropriate funds are released for payment of in-programme and QTS instalments. ITE Partnerships will be informed of the submission dates via the grant agreement letter.

Registration forms and claim forms will be issued to ITE Partnerships directly. ITE Partnership should direct any questions they have related to the payment process, to ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Welsh Government are responsible for the final incentive payment. This is paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an induction certificate. 

How the induction payment will be paid to students 

The Welsh Government will contact students during their induction period. This is to ensure they have all relevant details to process this grant payment. 

Students can contact Welsh Government about this payment: ITEIncentives@gov.wales. 

The Welsh Government require the below documentation for the induction payment to be made:

• submission of induction claim forms (A1 and A2) issued by Welsh Government
• copy of induction certificate issued by the Education Workforce Council
• confirmation of eligibility (to be completed by the induction school)

Induction claim forms

A1: Please return this claim form directly to Welsh Government (at ITEIncentives@gov.wales). 

A2: On completion of sections A to D of the induction claim form. Please share the form and an electronic copy of your induction certificate with the Head Teacher, Head Teacher, Deputy Head or Head of Department, of the school where induction was completed. 

The above documentation should be submitted on your behalf by the Head teacher, Deputy Head teacher or Head of Department who signed the declaration, on behalf of the school where your induction was undertaken. 

Where a student resumes an ITE programme in a different academic year to when they initially started or deferred, payments will continue to be made at the same rate (if any) which applied in the academic year the student’s studies initially started or deferred. Unless the Welsh Government agree otherwise in writing. 

Where a student resumes an ITE programme they will need to complete a Deferment and Resumption Form. Deferment and Resumption Forms must be completed by the student and submitted securely with the appropriate claim form to the Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales. This ensure appropriate funds are released.

Deferment and Resumption Forms are available from Welsh Government. Completed forms will be shared with ITE Partnerships and Welsh Government. Any payments made to students who resume an ITE programme will take into account any payments previously received.

Returning to an ITE Programme in academic year 2022 to 2023

Students who started their ITE programme prior to September 2022 and are returning to complete their programme between 1st September 2022 and 31st August 2023 should refer to the terms set out in Initial Teacher Education priority subject incentives: guidance for students 2021 and previous years. The grant amount, degree classifications, terms and conditions and payment structure will remain the same and eligible students will continue to be paid termly payments to August 2023 (minus any payments already received).

Students who started an ITE programme prior to September 2022 and return after September 2023 will revert to the payment structure as set out in this guidance(termly payments will no longer be made). The total incentive amount will remain as per amounts set out under the Initial Teacher Education priority subject incentives: guidance for students 2021 and previous years, minus any payments already received. 

In-programme payments 2022

If a full-time student defers (suspends) their studies during the first term, they will not be eligible to receive the payment. However, if a student resumes their studies within the same academic year, they will be entitled to receive the missed payment on award of QTS. Under these circumstances payment will be made following award of QTS and in addition to the QTS payment.

If a part-time student defers (suspends) their studies during the first term, they will not be eligible to receive the payment. However, if a student resumes their studies within the same academic year, they will be entitled to receive the missed payment following the first term of their second year. Under these circumstances payment will be made following the completion of their first year and in addition to the second in-programme payment.

If a part-time student defers (suspends) their studies between the second term of their first year and the first term of their second year, they will not be eligible to receive the second in-programme payment. However, if a student resumes their studies within the second academic year of study, they will be entitled to receive the missed payment on award of QTS. Under these circumstances payment will be made following award of QTS and in addition to the QTS payment.

Full-time students who withdraw from a programme before the end of the first term and are eligible for an incentive grant, will not be entitled to any payment.

Part-time students who withdraw from a programme during the first term of the first year will not be entitled to any payment. Part-time students who complete the first term of the first year (and receive the first payment) but withdraw between the second term of their first year and the first term of their second year will not be entitled to any further payment.

QTS payment

If a student defers (suspends) their studies after receiving in-programme payments and prior to achieving QTS, they will not be eligible to receive the QTS payment. However, if a student resumes their studies and achieves QTS, they will be entitled to receive the QTS payment on award of QTS. Under these circumstances payment will be made following completion of an eligible postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS) and in line with these conditions.

A 'Deferment and Resumptions Form' will need to be completed.

Students who withdraw from a programme after the first payment has been received but before achieving QTS and are eligible for an incentive grant, will only be entitled to the payment already received.

Students who do not achieve QTS at the end of their ITE programme and are eligible for an incentive grant, will not be entitled to the QTS payment.

Final incentive payment

Students who achieve QTS and are eligible for an incentive grant but do not complete their Induction period within the specified period within a maintained school in Wales, will not be entitled to the final incentive payment.

Induction must be successfully completed within three years of achieving QTS within a maintained setting in Wales to remain eligible to receive the final incentive payment.

The Welsh Government have powers to recover incentive grants paid, in whole or in part. They have discretion about whether to exercise those powers and will consider all cases on their merits.

These powers may be exercised by the Welsh Government where:

• after receiving any instalment of an incentive grant, the recipient fails to meet any eligibility criteria adopted by the Welsh Government and set out in the schedule or information guide in relation to a subsequent instalment
• the recipient has provided in, or in connection with, his or her application for an incentive grant, information which is false or materially misleading
• or there is firm evidence that the recipient had never intended to complete the programme or having completed it, to enter teaching

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 'Privacy notice: Welsh Government grants'.

Scheme documentation

The ITE priority subject Scheme is reviewed on an annual basis. ITE partnerships must reference the appropriate:

• legal scheme
• grant offer letter
• student guidance
• privacy notice

linked to the year of study. This will assist in checking student eligibility and full scheme details.

Legal schemes, student guidance and Privacy Notices can be accessed.