Salaried Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE): policy and priorities statement

This guidance sets out the policy priorities and procedures in Wales for the Employment Based Teacher Training Scheme (EBS) in Wales. It also sets out the numbers and the level of funding available for the salary and training grant attached to placements and sets out the policy priorities and procedures to which ITE providers must have regard to in managing the delivery of the EBS.

The EBS will be known as a Salaried PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education).

This guidance should be read in conjunction with The Employment Based Teacher Training Scheme 2020 which sets out the statutory requirements of the scheme.

Academic year 2023 to 2024

For the academic year 2023 to 2024 the following Salaried PGCE places are available on or after 1 September 2023 (all placements and associated funding are of 2 year duration).

A maximum of 160 places to commence from 1st September 2023 for maintained primary and secondary schools. Secondary school placements will be available in the following subjects:

• Design and Technology
• Information Technology
• Science
• Maths
• English
• Welsh

Primary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500.

Secondary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500 and a salary grant contribution of:

• 50% of point 1 on the unqualified teacher pay scale (as set by the School teachers pay and conditions (Wales) document for the relevant year) for English medium placements
• 100% of point 1 on the unqualified teacher pay scale (as set by the School teachers pay and conditions (Wales) document for the relevant year) for Welsh medium placements and those studying PGCE Welsh

Academic year 2022 to 2023

For the academic year 2022 to 2023 the following Salaried PGCE places are available on or after 1 September 2022 (all placements and associated funding are of 2 year duration).

A maximum of 120 places to commence from 1st September 2022 for maintained primary and secondary schools. Secondary school placements will be available in the following subjects:

• Science
• Maths
• English
• Welsh

Primary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500.

Secondary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500 and a salary grant contribution of:

• 50% of point 1 on the unqualified teacher pay scale (as set by the School teachers pay and conditions (Wales) document for the relevant year) for English medium placements
• 55% of point 1 on the unqualified teacher pay scale (as set by the School teachers pay and conditions (Wales) document for the relevant year) for Welsh medium placements and those studying PGCE Welsh

In April 2023 following the revised teachers’ pay award for academic year 2022 we will:

• make an additional ad-hoc salary grant contribution

This will:

• make up the difference from the original teachers’ pay levels to those now agreed in April 2023
• be backdated
• include all of the non-consolidated lump sum for each eligible student as per Band 1 of the unqualified teachers’ pay scale under the new arrangements (The non-consolidated one-off element of the award is for academic year 2022 to 2023 only)

The percentage of the salary grant contribution will remain the same.

Academic year 2021 to 2022

For the academic year 2021 to 2022 the following Salaried PGCE places are available on or after 1 September 2021 (all placements and associated funding are of 2 year duration).

A maximum of 105 places to commence from 1st September 2021 for maintained primary and secondary schools. Secondary school placements will be available in the following subjects: Science, Maths, English and Welsh.

Primary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500.

Secondary places will be supported with a training grant of up to £4,500 and a salary grant contribution of a:

• 50% of point 1 on the unqualified teacher pay scale (as set by the School teachers pay and conditions (Wales) document for the relevant year) for English medium placements
• 55% contribution will be made for Welsh medium placements

All applications must be made through the ITE provider. The ITE provider will work in collaboration with the relevant consortia to utilise their regional knowledge and expertise in identifying the recruitment needs and priority recruitment areas within their regions to identify which applications to support under the Salaried PGCE. The ITE provider will set the deadline for receipt of applications and will ensure that all necessary declarations and safeguarding checks have been undertaken.

The ITE provider will be responsible for addressing enquiries about the application criteria including the compatibility of the degree qualifications of the applicant but are encouraged to enable the consortia to answer any enquiries they may receive.

It should be noted that applications are particularly welcome for placements in Welsh medium schools.

There can be multiple Salaried PGCE placements at any one school at any time. The school, ITE provider and consortia in collaboration will need to carefully consider the impact of placing multiple EBS placements on both the school and the student teachers placed there. This is to ensure the quality of training each student teacher would receive during their placement enables them to complete the course of study and meet the specified standards at the end of their placement.

Training grants are available to the ITE provider for the purposes of the Salaried PGCE to meet in whole or in part the costs of training. A grant offer letter shall be issued to the training provider in accordance with Welsh Government policy. Training grants are available only for Salaried PGCE places as advised above.

Where a placement is employed part-time the salary grant contribution will be paid at an equivalent rate, pro rata. However consideration must be given as per the guidance in the section below.

The Welsh Government may require an ITE provider to return part or all of any training and salary grant made available if the period of the placement is, for any reason, less than the period of placement specified when the grant was made. The amount required to be returned for any grant made available will be any grant monies unutilised at the point the placement ceased.

Salary grants are available for maintained secondary schools operating Salaried PGCE placements. They represent a contribution towards the school’s costs of employing individuals on those placements. They are not intended to cover all the costs involved and are not a payment to the individual concerned.

All maintained schools that employ student teachers on a Salaried PGCE placement must pay the student teacher a salary and any other costs as set by the national pay and conditions structure for teachers in Wales, to be paid at point 1 or above on the unqualified teacher pay scale, and abide by any other employment requirements and legislation currently in force.

Schools are required to employ all student teachers on the programme for its full duration and must confirm approval of a placement and their employment status to the ITE provider before a placement commences. This requirement applies to all placements, whether grant funded or not. The ITE provider will not make any salary grant payments until this confirmation is received. Approval of places should be withheld or withdrawn if this requirement is not met. Under no circumstances will self-funded applications be considered from individuals.

Schools must register individuals undertaking a placement with the Education Workforce Council under the Learning Support Category prior to them starting their employment, this is a statutory legal requirement.

Whilst on placement, individuals will need additional support, guidance and mentoring to enable them to complete the course of study and to meet the specified standards (Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)), at the end of their placement. Working arrangements at the school must afford them the opportunity to do this and should be agreed in collaboration with the ITE provider.

Schools will agree and sign an appropriate memorandum of understanding with the ITE provider which will outline the roles and responsibilities of the school and the ITE provider.

Schools must employ individuals on a Salaried PGCE placement that can teach subjects for which they are suitably qualified and which are taught as part of the national curriculum or to public examination level.

The statutory requirements for the provision of accredited ITE programmes specify that each student teacher must have experience in at least two schools in their practical teaching placements. This is less straight forward in employment-based teacher training, where the student teacher is employed by a school. However, the use of other placement schools, or time spent in schools within a cluster network of schools, or a lead partner school working within the ITE Provider’s partnership could be considered. The second school placement will be agreed by the placement school, consortia and ITE provider in collaboration.

In considering part-time placements, schools, consortia and the ITE provider must discuss the application and whether it would be possible for the student teacher to be given opportunities to become as fully involved in all aspects of the work of the school and be able to achieve QTS. It is unlikely that those working part time, regardless of their previous experience of teaching, could achieve QTS via the EBS. However, applications will be considered in collaboration by the school, consortia and ITE provider on a case by case basis.

The ITE provider, consortia and school must ensure that any placement will enable the student teacher to meet the specified standards (QTS), at the end of their placement. The ITE provider must ensure that during the period of a placement, student teachers are provided with the training as per the accredited ITE programme to meet QTS. Therefore, the final decision on whether a placement commences sits with the ITE provider.

The applicant and the supporting school would be required to meet all other entry requirements. Whether to support an application is entirely at the discretion of the ITE partnership.

Training in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) or in a Further Education institution cannot form part of an approved EBS programme as this will not enable the student teacher to meet QTS.