Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Scheme: guidance for ITE partnerships 2025

The Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive Scheme provides a £5,000 grant to students who are undertaking an accredited postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE). The programme must lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Students must meet the eligibility criteria.

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

Students undertaking any employment-based teacher training scheme are not eligible for this grant. 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.

The Ethnic Minority ITE incentive scheme documentation is updated annually. 

ITE Partnerships will be issued with a grant award letter and contract to support the delivery of this scheme.

The following scheme documentation is publicly available: 

• a legal scheme
• a privacy notice
• scheme guidance for administrators and students

Access to legal schemes, student guidance and Privacy Notices.

The following scheme delivery documentation is issued to ITE Partnerships: 

• 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.

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

• £2,500 in July/August on successful completion of their PGCE and 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 payment. ITE Partnerships are responsible for this payment.
• £2,500 on successful completion of Induction in Wales. The Welsh Government are responsible for this payment.

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.

A new online application system is in place for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. 

Students can use the online application to apply for one or multiple incentives. 

ITE Partnerships are responsible for:

• assessing students’ eligibility for this incentive
• validating student applications
• making the in-programme and QTS payments to students 

They do this on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Students can only receive an incentive grant if they:

• meet all the eligibility criteria
• have made an application by completing the online application form 

Welsh Government will provide a web link for the online application form for this incentive scheme to ITE Partnerships. ITE Partnerships must share this with students they deem eligible for this incentive. 

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

QTS payment

The QTS payment 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 payment

Welsh Government make the induction payment. NQT’s must use the online application to apply for one or multiple incentive induction payments. 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.

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

Welsh Government are responsible for the final incentive payment. This is paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate.

Welsh Government are 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

ITE Partnerships are responsible for:

• utilising the incentive scheme to support recruitment into eligible ITE programmes where appropriate
• supporting those who identify as an ethnic minority student for registering on the scheme. Students must identify as one of the eligible ethnicities or ethnic groups. It is expected that this will match the records held by the ITE Partnership
• providing eligible students with access to the online application at the start of the ITE programme
• ensuring students understand the terms of the grant
• validating student applications
• sharing student information necessary for the scheme, with Welsh Government (for example, validation report, claim forms), in a secure manner. This must comply 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 grant payments to students
• supporting students to complete Deferment and Resumptions forms, as necessary
• dealing with student queries in relation to the incentive scheme
• Informing Welsh Government of any complaint received that is linked to this incentive. This must be done regardless of whether they require action by Welsh Government
• 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, as detailed 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.

Students can apply online for this incentive scheme between 1^st September and 15^th November. They must complete an online application form. This will provide the Welsh Government and ITE Partnerships with the information required to administer and evaluate the scheme. 

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

ITE Partnerships should share this information with eligible students to enable them to apply within the relevant timeframe. 

The online application will open on 1^st September and close on 15^th November. Should a student need to apply outside of this timeframe, ITE Partnerships should contact Welsh Government at ITEIncentives@gov.wales. The link to the online application is only valid for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

An ITE Partnership application code will be issued to ITE Partnerships on an annual basis. The purpose of this code is to authenticate the application made, linking students with ITE Partnerships. 

Welsh Government will share an application validation report with ITE Partnerships prior to 30^th 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^th 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.

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 payments 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.

If a student defers (suspends) their studies prior to achieving QTS, they will not be eligible to receive the QTS payment. However, if they resume their studies and achieve QTS, they 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 a student resumes an ITE programme in a different academic year a deferment and resumption form will need to be completed. ITE Partnerships can obtain forms from Welsh Government. Completed forms will need to be submitted to Welsh Government with the relevant claim form. 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.

Welsh Government are responsible for the final incentive payment. This is paid following successful completion of Induction and award of an Induction certificate from the Education Workforce Council (EWC). 

Induction payment process

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 completed induction and received their EWC induction certificate before they can apply for payment.

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 have 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 is required to verify an ITE incentive induction application. To do this, they are asked to complete an online verification form and submit a copy of the applicants 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 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.

The Welsh Government have powers to recover incentive 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 may be exercised by the Welsh Government where:

• after receiving any instalment of an incentive grant, the recipient fails to meet any eligibility criteria as set out in the legal scheme 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 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 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 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 Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Incentive: privacy notices and privacy notice: Welsh Government grants.

ITE incentive grants available reflect recruitment priorities within the teaching workforce in Wales. They are available to eligible students on eligible postgraduate ITE programmes in Wales.

The Ethnic Minority ITE Incentive Scheme was introduced in 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. Students who undertook an ITE programme prior to September 2022 are not eligible to this incentive.

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 Ethnic Minority Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Incentive Scheme is a legal scheme (“the scheme”). The scheme is made by the Welsh Ministers in the exercise of their powers. The scheme is reviewed on an annual basis. Each scheme makes provision for postgraduate Black, Asian and minority ethnic ITE students, studying their accredited ITE programme access to these incentives.

ITE Partnerships and the Welsh Government are responsible for administering and assessing students’ eligibility for this incentive. ITE Partnerships do this on behalf of the Welsh Government.