Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Incentive 2024 to 2025: guidance for students

This scheme has been available since September 2022. The scheme supports the Welsh Government’s ambition for an Anti-racist Wales. The scheme aims to increase the number of ethnic minority teachers so that learners in Wales have a more diverse learning experience.

This scheme provides a £5,000 grant. Eligible students who undertake a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with QTS can apply. Students must meet the criteria.

Students undertaking any Employment Based Teacher Training Scheme are not eligible. 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.

This guidance relates to the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

The 2024 scheme will come into effect on 1 September 2024. Eligible students who start ITE programmes leading to QTS between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025 can apply.

You should read this guidance in conjunction with the legal scheme related to the year of study. This sets out the statutory requirements of the scheme.

ITE incentive grants reflect current recruitment priorities within the teaching workforce in Wales. Students from a diverse background can apply if they:

• are undertaking an accredited postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) with QTS
  and
• meet the grant criteria

The Welsh Ministers have discretion not to pay an incentive grant to a student if the intake target for the programme is reached. You should seek confirmation from your provider that you are not affected by this.

Programme eligibility

An eligible programme is an accredited PGCE ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS. The programme can be full-time or part-time.

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. This includes the Salaried PGCE
• identify and declare to their ITE Partnership as an ethnic minority student. Declaration must be 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:

• Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• Roma
• Jewish

Other ethnic group:

• Arab
• Kurdish

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. 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.

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.

The incentive payments totalling £5,000 will be made in 2 instalments. They will be paid at the following points:

• £2,500 in July or 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 to apply and how payments are made

This scheme is administered by Welsh Government and on behalf of the Welsh Government by ITE Partnerships. Please contact your ITE Partnership to discuss your eligibility, apply for the incentive, or if you have any queries. 

If eligible you will receive your QTS payment from your ITE Partnership. The final incentive payment will be made by the Welsh Government. It will be paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate.   

Student declaration and registration

To ensure learners in Welsh schools, have a more diverse teaching workforce, the Welsh Government is committed to:

• making Wales an Anti-racist nation
• increasing the number of ethnic minority teachers

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
• understand the overall diversity of the student cohort
  and
• attempt to estimate the diversity of the future workforce

We ask you to choose from a list of ethnic groups which mirror closely those used by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). By doing this we ensure a consistent approach to understanding ethnic diversity within higher education in Wales.

ITE Partnerships will provide eligible students with a registration form. This must be signed at the start of your ITE programme. This confirms eligibility and enables payments to be made under this scheme. The registration form asks you to confirm that you 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.

The Data Protection & Freedom of Information section provides details about what we do with our information.

QTS payment

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

Students’ ITE Partnerships are responsible for making the QTS payments. They 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 this incentive.

Final incentive payment

This payment will be made to eligible NQTs on successful completion of their Induction period and on award of their Induction certificate. Induction must take place at a maintained school in Wales. The Welsh Government is responsible for making this payment. 

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

This payment cannot be claimed unless the eligible student has received the QTS payment for this scheme. 

The Welsh Government are responsible for making the final incentive payment. They 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.

If you leave an eligible ITE programme before its completion and award of QTS, you will not be entitled to this incentive.

If you are:

• resuming an eligible programme
• starting an eligible programme, where entry has been deferred (suspended)

payments will continue to be made at the same rate which applied in the academic year you initially started or deferred. Unless the Welsh Ministers agree otherwise in writing.

Returning to an ITE programme after September 2022

If you:

• started your ITE programme prior to September 2022
• are returning to complete your programme on or after 1st September 2022

you are not eligible for this incentive scheme.

QTS payment

If you defer (suspend) your studies prior to achieving QTS, you will not be eligible to receive the QTS payment. However, if you resume your studies and achieve QTS, you will be entitled to receive payment on award of QTS. Payment will be made following completion of an eligible postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS). Payment will be made in line with these conditions.

If you resume an ITE programme in a different academic year a deferment and resumption form will need to be completed. Please speak to your ITE partnership. 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

If you have achieved QTS and are eligible for this incentive, but do not complete your Induction period you will not be entitled to this payment.

Induction must be successfully completed in a maintained school in Wales.

Induction must be successfully completed within three years of achieving QTS.

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 are:

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

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 and our ‘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 (this scheme)

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.

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.