Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme: guidance for students 2018 to 2022

Academic year 2022 to 2023 is the final year that this scheme is administered by Welsh Government. If you gained QTS or completed induction this guidance will support, you in checking your eligibility.

From September 2023 the Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive (IAY) is administered by ITE Partnerships and the Education Workforce Council (EWC). You will need to apply directly to your ITE Partnership.

Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme is a legal Scheme made by the Welsh Ministers. This scheme 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 legal 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 must reference the appropriate scheme linked to the year of study to check eligibility. If you have any questions related to previous years please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales

2022 to 2023 academic year

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme 2022 (2022 WG20-64) (“the Scheme”) was made by the Welsh Ministers in February 2022.

The 2022 Scheme comes into effect on 1 September 2022 for students in Wales who, between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, start an ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through the medium of Welsh or training to teach Welsh as a subject.

2021 to 2022 academic year

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme 2021 (2021 WG20-64) (“the Scheme”) was made by the Welsh Ministers in January 2021.

The 2021 Scheme comes into effect on 1 September 2021 for students in Wales who, between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022, start an ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through the medium of Welsh or training to teach Welsh as a subject.

2020 to 2021 academic year

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme 2020 (2020 WG20-06) (“the Scheme”) was made by the Welsh Ministers in December 2020.

The 2020 Scheme came into effect on 1 September 2020 for students in Wales who, between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021, start an ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) through the medium of Welsh or training to teach Welsh as a subject. For more information, please read our guidance.

2018 to 2019 academic year

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme 2018 (2018 No. 42) (“the Scheme”) was made by the Welsh Ministers in the exercise of their powers on 7 December 2017.

The 2018 scheme must have led to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019, and be run by an ITE provider accredited by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. For more information, please read our guidance.

The incentive grants are available to students who complete an eligible accredited secondary postgraduate ITE programme in Wales that enables them to teach through the medium of Welsh or teach Welsh as a subject.

The incentive grants are available for both full-time and part-time programmes.

To be eligible for an incentive grant, a student must:

• have undertaken an eligible programme, which commenced on or after 1 September but prior to 31 August as specified in the legal scheme
• qualify for support under Regulations made under section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 currently in force
• not already be a qualified teacher on commencement of study towards QTS
• not be employed to teach at a school or other institution as a teacher
• not be a participant in training organised under an employment-based teacher training scheme including the Salaried PGCE
• to received instalment one; have successfully completed an eligible programme and obtained QTS in accordance with the School Teachers' Qualifications (Wales) Regulations 2012 which are in force at the time
• to receive instalment two; have successfully completed induction within three years, following award of QTS, in a maintained Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary school, or have successfully completed induction as a Welsh teacher in any maintained secondary school in Wales, as required under the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (Wales) Regulations 2015 and received the first instalment.

For an ITE programme to be eligible it must:

• be accredited by the Education Workforce Council’s (EWC’s) Teacher Education Accreditation Board
• lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Wales
• enable the student to teach in a secondary setting through the medium of Welsh or teach Welsh as a subject 

The Welsh Ministers have discretion not to pay an incentive grant to persons who have been accepted onto an eligible programme after the intake target for that programme has been reached. Eligible persons should seek confirmation from their provider that they are not affected by this.

Full information on eligibility and conditions are set out in the Scheme, which should be read alongside this information. Students must reference the appropriate scheme to the academic year of study to check eligibility. More information can be found on our legal scheme page.

Students undertaking eligible ITE programmes prior to 2018 are not covered under this scheme.

Students who are eligible for an incentive grant and leave a postgraduate ITE programme before its completion will not be entitled to any grant.

Incentive grants for eligible students resuming an eligible programme, or starting an eligible programme where entry has been deferred (suspended), will be eligible to claim the two instalments. Students will only remain eligible for the incentive grant if the deferment of their programme is no longer than one academic year.

If you have any questions related to eligibility, you should discuss this with your ITE provider and if not resolved contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales

2019 academic year onwards to August 2023

Since September 2019 under these schemes an incentive grant of up to £5,000 is available and will continue be paid in two instalments of £2,500 to eligible students. 

No grant will be paid to a person unless they have made an application to the Welsh Ministers, care of the Welsh Government.

From September 2023 the Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive (IAY) is administered by ITE Partnerships and the Education Workforce Council (EWC). You will need to apply directly to your ITE Partnership.

2018 to 2019 academic year

Under this scheme an incentive grant of up to £3,000 alongside the training grant funding of £2000 for the Welsh Medium Improvement Scheme, is available to eligible students who undertaking eligible ITE programmes that started between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019. This grant will be paid in two instalments £500 and £2,500.

No grant will be paid to a person unless they have made an application to the Welsh Ministers, care of the Welsh Government.

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:

• Registration form by 31^st March. From September 2023 registration is via ITE Partnerships. Please see relevant guidance linked to year of study.
• QTS claim form within one year of achieving QTS
• Induction claim form within one year of completing induction

Students are responsible for ensuring that all claim 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. Email receipts will be provided by Welsh Government. It is the students’ responsibility to ensure safe receipt of emails.

Copies of claims and emails sent to Welsh Government should be retained by students for their records. Confirmation of receipt emails received from the Welsh Government should also be retained. They should be stored securely and be accessible after leaving university and the induction school. If a student has not received confirmation of receipt email form Welsh Government within 10 days, they should assume the email or claim has not been received.

If claim forms and supporting evidence is not received by Welsh Government in full or is received outside the allocated timescales payment will not be made.

The following information sets out the required process and documentation for payments to be made.

Setting up the payment process

ITE Providers should make students aware of their eligibility to claim this incentive and should provide each eligible student with guidance on the process.

Each eligible student is required to submit a Registration form to the Welsh Government by 31 March of the year of study. The student should provide a personal e-mail address on the form and ensure that the form is sent to Welsh Government from the personal e-mail address provided.

The Registration form provides Welsh Government with the information needed to enable prompt payments to be made on receipt of a claim. All claim payments will be paid directly into the account detailed on this form. If this account changes at any point prior to receiving the second payment, please contact the Welsh Government ITEIncentives@gov.wales to amend your details. It is the students’ responsibility to inform the Welsh Government of any changes.

The form should be completed with a personal e-mail address and be submitted electronically in a secure way, from that personal email address to the Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales by 31^st March in the year of study or payment cannot be made. You will need to familiarise yourself with this guidance and the 'how to' guidance document before submitting the form.

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.

How to claim the first grant payment

The first payment of £2,500 for eligible students can be claimed on completion of an eligible secondary postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS). It is the student’s responsibility to check with their ITE provider to ensure they are eligible to claim this grant. 

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

• Submission of a QTS claim form
• Copy of QTS certificate issued by the Education Workforce Council

The above documentation should be submitted electronically in a secure way to the Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales within one year of a student successfully obtaining their QTS. Claims received after this timeframe will not be considered. An ITE Providers’ authorised signatory is required to complete a declaration on the QTS claim form. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain this prior to submitting the claim form. 

Eligible students should ensure that they have read and understand the legal scheme relevant to the year of study along with any information provided to support the scheme by Welsh Government.

Eligible students should ensure that they have read the privacy notice relevant to the year of study and understand how their personal data will be used and shared.

The first payment cannot be paid unless a student has submitted a registration form prior to the 31^st March of the year of study. All documentation must be received within the allocated timescales or payment will not be made.

How to claim the second grant payment

The second payment of £2,500 for eligible students can be claimed on successful completion of induction at a maintained Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary school or teaching Welsh in any maintained secondary setting in Wales.

The second payment cannot be claimed unless the student has claimed the first payment within the allocated timescales.

The Welsh Government required the below documentation for the second payment to be made:

• Submission of an induction claim form
• Copy of 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 at the end of the induction claim form to confirm that the eligible student has successfully completed induction in their maintained Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary school or by teaching Welsh in any maintained secondary setting in Wales.

The above documentation 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 form should not be signed or submitted until the induction period has been fully completed.

The forms 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 students’ responsibility to ensure this has been done.

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.

Payment will be made directly to the eligible student’s bank account, as detailed within the registration form completed by the student in March of the year of study. If these details have changed it is the student’s responsibility to notify Welsh Government of this.

A claim will not be paid if the ITE provider or induction school have not provided confirmation of student’s eligibility.

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

Cases where these powers might be exercised by the Welsh Ministers will be where:

1. the recipient has provided in, or in connection with, his or her application for a grant, information which is false or materially misleading or
2. there is firm evidence that the recipient had never intended to complete the programme or, having completed it, to enter teaching

3. the award of QTS and or Induction has been revoked by the EWC.

Information which a 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:

1. 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
2. any information is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA or the EIR
3. 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 page 'Privacy notice: Welsh Government grants'.

The Welsh Government provides 3 incentive schemes that are available to ITE students:

• Initial Teacher Education priority subjects 
• Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentives 
• Ethnic Minority ITE incentive

ITE partnerships will work with their students to help identify who meets the eligibility criteria for each scheme. You may be eligible for more than one scheme. Eligibility under one scheme does not impact your eligibility for other ITE incentive schemes. It is possible to receive grant funding under all 3 incentive schemes. Eligibility criteria for each individual scheme must be met.

You will need to complete an incentive registration form for each scheme you want to apply for. This confirms eligibility and enables payments to be made under the relevant scheme.

Welsh in Education Teacher Retention Bursary

In 2023 the Welsh Government launched a pilot bursary to support the retention of Welsh Medium teachers. The bursary will be available until 2028, the end of the pilot period. Final bursaries being paid in autumn 2028.

Under this Scheme a Bursary of £5,000 is available to teachers who have been:

• awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) from August 2020 onwards
• who have completed 3 years of teaching:
  • in a Welsh-medium secondary or middle school or
  • through the medium of Welsh in a bilingual secondary or middle school or
  • teaching Welsh as a subject in any maintained secondary or middle school, in Wales

More information on Welsh in Education Teacher Retention Bursary guidance and eligibility criteria is available.

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive was introduced in 2018. For the academic year 2018 to 2019 up to £3,000 was available. A training grant funding of £2000 for the Welsh Medium Improvement Scheme was also available. This was available to eligible students on eligible ITE programmes that started between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2019. This grant was paid in two instalments £500 and £2,500.

Since September 2019 under the Iaith Athrawon Yfory scheme an incentive grant of up to £5,000 has been available. 2 instalments of £2,500 are available to eligible secondary postgraduate students. 

Academic year 2022 to 2023 is the final year that this scheme is administered by Welsh Government. Please see the relevant guidance to check if you are still able to register.

From September 2023 the Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive (IAY) is administered by ITE Partnerships and the Education Workforce Council (EWC). You will need to apply directly to your ITE Partnership.

No grant will be paid to a person unless they have made an application to the Welsh Ministers, care of the Welsh Government.

Tax

Incentive grants are not normally taxable for full-time students.

The final incentive payment may be taxable for those individuals in employment. 

You can seek advice on your own circumstances from His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Student financial assistance

An incentive grant is not considered part of household income for student finance provisions. Grants should not be included when working out taxable unearned income.

You should seek advice from your student finance provider on your individual circumstances.

Student loan repayments

For full-time students the grant will not trigger student loan repayments.

For part-time students in employment, liability will depend on whether your work salary is high enough to trigger student loan repayments.

Student loan repayments may be triggered by the final incentive payment. Liability will depend on whether your work salary is high enough to trigger student loan repayments.

Effect on benefits

This will depend on your personal circumstances.

You should seek advice from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Effect on pensions

The incentive grant is not pensionable.

If you have any further questions, contact your ITE partnership.