Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) incentive 2022 to 2023: guidance for students

The Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) incentive is available to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic students studying an accredited postgraduate ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive Scheme is a legal scheme made by the Welsh Ministers. This scheme became available from academic year 2022 to 2023. It supports the Welsh Government’s ambition for an Anti-racist Wales and to increase the number of ethnic minority teachers so that learners in Wales have a more diverse teaching workforce.

Students undertaking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) (full-time and part-time) with QTS are eligible for this grant providing they meet the criteria.

Students undertaking any Employment Based Teacher Training Scheme including the Salaried PGCE are not eligible for this grant.

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.

Students, who may have been eligible, but were undertaking eligible ITE programmes prior to September 2022 are not covered under this scheme.

2022 to 2023 academic year

The Ethnic Minority ITE Scheme (WG23-04) (“the Scheme”) was made by the Welsh Ministers in January 2023. The Scheme should be read alongside the information on this webpage.

The WG23-04 Scheme comes into effect on 1 September 2022 for eligible students in Wales who meet the criteria, and between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023, start an ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

This guidance relates to the 2022 to 2023 academic year. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the legal scheme related to the year of study which sets out the statutory requirements of the scheme.

The ITE incentive grants available reflect current recruitment priorities within the teaching workforce in Wales.

The incentive grant is available for students undertaking both full-time and part-time eligible programmes.

The legal scheme sets out the statutory requirements of the scheme, please refer to the scheme linked to the year of study.

Programme eligibility

An eligible programme is an accredited full or part-time, primary or secondary postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS.

Grant eligibility

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

• have undertaken an eligible programme in Wales, which commenced on or after 1 September but prior to 31 August of the year of study
• qualify for financial 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 on entry to an eligible postgraduate ITE programme
• not be a participant in training organised under an employment-based teacher training scheme including the Salaried PGCE
• identify and declare to their ITE Partnership as an ethnic minority student under one of the following ethnicities or ethnic groups:

Asian:

• Bangladeshi or Bangladeshi British
• Chinese or Chinese British
• Indian or Indian British
• Pakistani or Pakistani British
• Any other Asian background

Black, Black British, Caribbean or African:

• African or African British
• Caribbean or Caribbean British
• Any other Black background

Mixed or multiple ethnic groups:

• White or White British and Asian or Asian British
• White or White British and Black African or Black African British
• White or White British and Black Caribbean or Black Caribbean British
• Any other Mixed or Multiple ethnic background

White:

• White - Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• White - Roma

Other ethnic group:

• Arab

To be eligible for the QTS payment instalment a student must:

• meet the eligibility requirements for the Ethnic Minority ITE incentive scheme 
• have successfully completed an eligible ITE programme and been awarded QTS in accordance with the School Teachers' Qualifications (Wales) Regulations 2012

To be eligible for the final payment instalment at the completion of Induction, a newly qualified teacher (NQT) must:

• have met the eligibility requirements for the grant and have received the QTS incentive payment
• have successfully completed Induction and been awarded an Induction Certificate within three years of award of QTS, in a maintained school in Wales as required under the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (Wales) Regulations 2015

Eligible students for this incentive scheme are also entitled to claim other teacher training incentives providing they meet the eligibility criteria of those schemes that relate to the relevant academic year of study.

If you have any questions related to eligibility, you should discuss this with your ITE Partnership.

Under this scheme an incentive grant of up to £5,000 is available to all students who meet the eligibility criteria.

Payment will be paid in two instalments of £2,500 to eligible students:

• £2,500 in July/August on successful completion of the PGCE and award of QTS. (Where a student is assessed by a resubmission exam board, payments will be made prior to 31^st December). 
• £2,500 on successful completion of Induction in Wales.

How payments will be paid 

The Ethnic Minority ITE incentive is administered by Welsh Government and on behalf of the Welsh Government by ITE Partnerships. If you would like to discuss your eligibility, apply for a grant or have any queries relating to this grant, please contact your ITE Partnership.

Eligible students will receive their QTS payment from their ITE Partnership. The final incentive payment will be made by the Welsh Government following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate.   

Student declaration and registration

The Welsh Government is committed to making Wales an Anti-racist nation and to increase the number of ethnic minority teachers, so learners in schools in Wales have a more diverse teaching workforce. The ITE incentives available reflect current recruitment priorities within the teaching workforce in Wales. There are eligibility criteria for each of the ITE incentives schemes. 

When applying for the Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive we ask for information about your ethnicity. We do this to establish your eligibility for the scheme, to understand the overall diversity of the student cohort, and to attempt to estimate the diversity of the future workforce. We ask you to choose from a list of ethnic groups which mirror those used by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and by doing so ensure a consistent approach to understanding ethnic diversity within higher education in Wales.

ITE Partnerships will provide eligible students with a Registration Form to sign at the start of their ITE programme. This confirms eligibility and enables payments to be made under this scheme. The Registration Form asks students to confirm that they have read and understood the information contained on these webpages. If this confirmation is not received grant payment cannot be made.

The information on the incentive Registration Form will be shared with ITE partnerships and Welsh Government.

For information about what the Welsh Government does with your information in relation to this scheme please go to the Data Protection and Freedom of Information section.

QTS payment

The QTS payment for all eligible students will be paid following completion of an eligible postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS).

Students’ ITE Partnerships are responsible for making the QTS payments and will determine the exact payment date. Any queries should be directed to them.

Students who fail to achieve QTS will not be entitled to receive the QTS payment.

Final incentive payment

The final incentive payment for all eligible NQTs will be made on successful completion of their Induction period at a maintained school in Wales and on award of their Induction certificate. The Welsh Government is responsible for making this payment. 

You will be required to complete induction claim forms (A1 and A2). If you have not received claim forms, please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

The final incentive payment cannot be claimed unless the eligible student has successfully claimed and received the QTS payment under this incentive scheme. 

The Welsh Government are responsible for making the final incentive payment and will determine the exact payment date. Any queries should be directed to: ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

You must claim the final incentive within one year of completing your induction period or payment cannot be made. It is your responsibility to ensure you have made this claim.

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 Ministers agree otherwise in writing.

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 on or after 1st September 2022 are not eligible for this incentive scheme.

QTS payment 

If a student defers (suspends) their studies 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.

Where a student resumes an ITE programme in a different academic year a Deferment and Resumption Form will need to be completed. The information on the completed form will be shared with ITE Partnerships and Welsh Government.

Students who do not achieve QTS at the end of their ITE programme will not be entitled to claim the QTS payment of this incentive.

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 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.

These powers might be exercised by the Welsh Ministers 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 legal scheme or this guidance in relation to a subsequent instalment, or 
• the recipient has provided in, or in connection with, his or her application for a 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
• 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 Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive Scheme, is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “FOIA”), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the “EIR”) the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK 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 required 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 (PN00001019)' and our ‘Privacy notice: Welsh Government Grants’.

The Welsh Government provides 3 incentive schemes that are available to students. ITE Partnerships will work with their students to help identify who meet the individual eligibility criteria for each scheme. An 'Incentives Registration Form' will need to be completed for each scheme. This confirms eligibility and enables payments to be made under the relevant scheme. In some cases, a student maybe eligible for all schemes.

• Initial Teacher Education priority subjects 
• Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentives 
• Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive (this scheme)

Is the incentive grant taxable?

His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes. Incentive grants are not normally taxable for full-time students; however, students should seek advice from HMRC on their individual circumstances.

Additional advice should be sought in relation to the final incentive payment as the final incentive payment may be taxable for those individuals in employment.

What will be the effect of the incentive grant on other student support?

An incentive grant is not considered part of your income for student finance provisions based on household income. Therefore, they should not be included when working out your taxable unearned income; however, students should seek advice from their student finance provider on their individual circumstances.

What will be the effect of the incentive grant on benefits?

The Department for Work and Pensions is a UK Government department responsible for welfare and pension policy, you should seek advice from them on your individual circumstances.

Will the training grant trigger student loan repayments?

No, not if you are undertaking a full-time programme. However, if you are undertaking a part-time programme, your liability will depend on whether you are also earning a salary (through work not related to ITE) that is high enough to trigger student loan repayments.

Loan repayments may be triggered when you have completed your programme gained QTS and are earning a salary as a teacher.

How is the training grant paid?

Providing all the relevant eligibility criteria have been met and documentation provided, payment is made in two instalments to your bank account. The payment is made separately to other incentive payments.

Is the incentive grant pensionable?

No.

Are teachers eligible for the incentive grant if their teaching post whilst completing induction is at an independent school, sixth form college, or Further Education Institution?

No. For the purposes of claiming the training grant, the claimant must have completed induction in a maintained school in Wales.

I gained Qualified Teacher Status through an employment-based route, am I eligible for the incentive grant?

No. Teachers who gain Qualified Teacher Status through employment-based routes, including the Salaried PGCE, are not eligible to receive the incentive grant.

Do I have to self-declare my ethnicity to my ITE Partnership to receive this incentive?

Yes. Students must declare themselves as identifying as one of the ethnicities or ethnic groups in the eligibility criteria, so that ITE Partnerships can confirm their eligibility to claim this incentive and administer this grant.

Can I claim and receive the Induction payment if I have not received the QTS payment?

No. You must have received the first payment in to be eligible for the final payment.

Will I be entitled to the Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive grant?

Eligibility to the incentive grants under this scheme does not impact your eligibility for the Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive grant. It is possible to receive grant funding under both incentive schemes. Further information on our Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive scheme page.

Will I be entitled to the ITE Priority Subject incentive grant?

Eligibility to the incentive grants under this scheme does not impact your eligibility for the ITE Priority Subject incentive grant. It is possible to receive grant funding under both incentive schemes. Further information on our ITE Priority Subject incentive scheme page.