Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme: guidance ITE partnerships for 2026

This scheme is available to students studying an accredited secondary postgraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The programme must enable them to teach through the medium of Welsh or Welsh as a subject.

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme provides a £5,000 grant to students who undertake a secondary postgraduate ITE programme through the medium of Welsh or to teach Welsh as a subject.

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

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.

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

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive scheme documentation is updated annually. 

The following scheme documentation is available on the Welsh Government website: 

• terms and conditions of this scheme
• privacy notice
• guidance for administrators and students

The following scheme delivery documentation is issued to ITE Partnerships to support delivery: 

• a grant award letter
• a contract for the administration of the grant

These documents set out the scheme requirements and will assist in checking student eligibility. Please ensure that you look at the correct year of study when viewing the documents. 

If you have any questions related to this scheme or schemes from previous years, please contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

ITE Partnerships are responsible for administering and assessing students’ eligibility for this incentive. 

Prior to the start of the academic year, Welsh Government will issue ITE Partnerships with: 

• a weblink to the online application
• the ITE Partnership application code

You must share these with the students you deem eligible for this incentive.

Student application process

Students can only apply for an incentive grant if they:

• meet all the eligibility criteria
• are studying on an eligible programme
• have made an application to the Welsh Government via the online portal

Students can apply between 1 September and 15 November. 

Should a student need to apply outside of this timeframe you should contact Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Students will need the weblink to the application form and the ITE Partnership application code.

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

How to ensure that applications have been received

Students will receive a confirmation email once they have submitted their application. They should only consider their application submitted once this has been received.

If a student makes an error, they should not submit a new application. Mistakes will be corrected during the validation stage.

Validation report

The ITE Partnership application code will be issued to ITE Partnerships on an annual basis. Students must use this code when applying for the incentive. It authenticates the application and links students with ITE Partnerships. 

Welsh Government will share a validation report with ITE Partnerships prior to 30 November. ITE Partnerships are required to validate the information within this report and provide any additional information required. The validation report must be returned to Welsh Government by 15 December. This timeframe supports the claiming process. 

The grant award letter provides details about this process. The validation report will also provide guidance for its completion.

An incentive grant of £5,000 is available to all students who meet the eligibility criteria for the academic year of study.

The exact dates of payments to ITE Partnerships will be set out in the grant award letter. 

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

• £2,500 in July or August on successful completion of their PGCE and the 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 instalment.
• £2,500 on successful completion of induction in Wales. The Welsh Government are responsible for this instalment. 

Students assessed by a resubmission exam board

ITE Partnerships should submit an additional claim form for students who have been assessed by a resubmission exam board and have been awarded QTS. This will enable payments before 31 December.

QTS instalment payment 

The QTS instalment 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.

Induction instalment payment

The induction instalment is made by Welsh Government. NQTs must use the online application to apply for one or multiple incentive induction instalments. School verification is required. 

Please see 'induction payment process' section of this guidance for the ITE Partnership role.

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

Welsh Government is responsible for the terms and conditions of the scheme and is the data controller for the scheme. 

ITE Partnerships are responsible for assessment of students and payments made on award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

The Welsh Government is responsible for the induction instalment. This is paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate.

The Welsh Government is 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 Partnership responsibilities for grant administration

• Using the incentive scheme to support recruitment into eligible ITE programmes where appropriate.
• Identifying students that meet the eligibility criteria.
• Providing eligible students with access to the online application at the start of the ITE programme. The online application covers all three ITE incentive schemes.
• Ensuring students understand the terms of the grant.
• Validating student applications.
• Sharing student information necessary for the scheme securely, with Welsh Government (for example, validation report, claim forms), in a secure manner, which complies with data protection requirements and the terms of the grant award letter.
• Completing claim forms in line with QTS award dates, as detailed within the grant offer letter.
• Administering QTS instalments to students.
• Supporting students to complete Returner Forms, as necessary.
• Dealing with student queries in relation to the incentive scheme.
• Advising students on the induction claiming process. This will include sharing information and web-link to the online application with them, as detailed in the award letter and the Induction payment process section of this guidance.
• Invoicing Welsh Government for the administration cost for delivering the scheme. This is explained within the contract.

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

How the payment will be made to ITE Partnerships

ITE Partnerships must complete and submit a claim form to the Welsh Government. This will ensure appropriate funds are released for payment of the QTS instalment. 

Claim submission date for QTS instalment is: 

• 1 July to 17 August 

Further information can be found in the grant award letter. 

ITE Partnerships should invoice Welsh Government once each claim has been agreed. Further information can be found in the contract for the scheme administration.

ITE Partnerships should direct any questions they have related to the payment process, to ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Welsh Government is responsible for the induction instalment. This is paid following successful completion of induction and award of an induction certificate from the Education Workforce Council (EWC). 

Individuals must use the online application to apply for one or multiple incentive induction instalments. Welsh Government will provide a web-link to apply to ITE Partnerships. ITE Partnerships must share this with those eligible students on award of QTS. 

Students must have received their QTS instalment, completed induction and received their EWC induction certificate before they can apply for their induction instalment. 

If students have any queries about the induction process, they should contact Welsh Government by emailing ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Induction claiming process 

The ITE induction claiming process is made up of 3 parts: 

1. induction instalment application (the applicant must complete this online)
2. induction school verification, (the induction school must complete this online)
3. induction certificate (the induction school must submit a copy of this to Welsh Government via email)

An induction application will only be viewed as complete once Welsh Government has received all 3 parts of the process. 

NQT’s or schools can contact Welsh Government should they have any questions about this process at ITEIncentives@gov.wales. 

Induction claim part 1 

Eligible individuals must apply to the Welsh Government to claim their induction instalment by completing an online incentive application.

Individuals can contact Welsh Government should they have any questions about this process at ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Induction claim part 2 and 3 

The school where an NQT completes induction must verify an ITE incentive induction application. They must complete an online verification form and submit a copy of the applicant’s induction certificate to Welsh Government. 

Either a Head Teacher, Deputy Head, Assistant Head or Head of Department of a school should complete part 2 and 3 of this claiming process. Failure to provide verification or submit the induction certificate will result in the applicant's ITE induction application being rejected. 

All the directions to complete part 2 and 3 will be issued directly to the Head Teacher, Deputy Head, Assistant Head or Head of Department. If they have any questions about this process, they can contact Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

Induction claiming timeframe

Students who achieve QTS but do not complete their induction period within the specified period within a maintained secondary school in Wales, will not be entitled to the induction payment.

To remain eligible to receive the induction payment: 

• induction must be completed within 3 years of achieving QTS within a maintained setting in Wales
• an online application must be made to Welsh Government within one year of the NQT achieving induction

If a student defers (suspends) their studies prior to achieving QTS, they will not be eligible to receive the QTS instalment. However, if a student resumes their studies and achieves QTS, they will be entitled to receive the QTS instalment on award of QTS. A 'Returner Form' must be completed and accepted by Welsh Government.

Under these circumstances payment will be made following completion of a programme (on award of QTS). ITE partnerships can request a link to the Returner Form from ITEIncentives@gov.wales.

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

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

Welsh Government may exercise these powers where:

• after receiving any instalment of an incentive grant, the recipient fails to meet any eligibility criteria as set out in the scheme terms and conditions in relation to a subsequent instalment
• the recipient has provided information, which is false or materially misleading in, or in connection with, their application for an incentive grant
• 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 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 privacy notice: Welsh Government grants.

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 Scheme supports the Cymraeg 2050 Welsh language strategy. Cymraeg 2050 is the Welsh Government’s ambition to increase the number of Welsh teachers. Cymraeg 2050 has a target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

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 scheme is reviewed on an annual basis. Each 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 access to these incentives. 

A bursary to support the retention of Welsh-medium teachers is also available.