Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme: guidance for students 2026 to 2027

This incentive scheme provides a £5,000 grant to students who undertake a secondary postgraduate initial teacher education (ITE) programme. The programme must be one of the following:

• taught through the medium of Welsh
• enable the student to teach Welsh as a subject

This guidance relates to the 2026 to 2027 academic year. You can apply for this grant if you’re on a ITE programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2027. 

You should read this guidance in conjunction with the scheme terms and conditions.

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive scheme supports the Cymraeg 2050 Welsh language strategy.

This scheme is aimed at students on secondary postgraduate ITE programmes in Wales. You must be studying to teach through the medium of Welsh or to teach Welsh as a subject. The scheme is available to both full-time and part-time students.

Funding might not be available to students who have been accepted onto an ITE programme after the intake allocation has been reached. Check with your ITE Partnership whether you are affected by this.

Programme eligibility

For an ITE programme to be eligible it must:

• be accredited by the Education Workforce Council’s (EWC’s) Teacher Education Accreditation Board
• lead to QTS in Wales
• enable the student to teach in a secondary setting through the medium of Welsh or teach Welsh as a subject

Student eligibility

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

• be undertaking an eligible programme in Wales, which commenced on or after 1 September but prior to 31 August as specified in the scheme terms and conditions
• qualify for 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
• not be a participant in training organised under an employment-based teacher training scheme, including the Salaried PGCE
• meet the eligibility criteria for the QTS and induction payments 

If you have any questions related to eligibility, please contact your ITE Partnership.

Courses not eligible for this grant

• Students undertaking any employment-based teacher training scheme (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).

Your ITE partnership will let you know whether you are eligible for this incentive.

You can apply between 1st September to 15th November 2026. 

Please contact your ITE Partnership to check your eligibility, apply for the incentive, or if you have any queries. Your ITE partnership will give you guidance on the application process. 

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

The incentive payments totalling £5,000 will be made in 2 instalments:

• £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
• £2,500 on successful completion of induction in Wales

Payment eligibility and how to claim

QTS instalment 

To be eligible for the QTS instalment you must have:

• completed an eligible postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS (on award of QTS) in accordance with the School Teachers Qualifications (Wales) Regulations 2012
• have been awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

You will receive your QTS instalment from your ITE partnership. They will determine the exact payment date. Any issues should be directed to them.

If you fail to achieve QTS, you will not be entitled to receive this incentive. 

Induction instalment 

To be eligible for the induction instalment, a newly qualified teacher (NQT) must meet all of the following criteria. They must: 

• have met the eligibility criteria for this scheme
• have received the QTS instalment
• have successfully completed induction in a maintained Welsh-medium secondary school or in any maintained secondary school if teaching Welsh as a subject as required under the Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (Wales) Regulations 2015
• have successfully completed induction in an eligible setting within 3 years of award of QTS
• have been awarded an induction certificate
• apply for the induction instalment within 1 year of completing induction

Your ITE Partnership will provide you with information on how to apply to Welsh Government for the induction instalment. They will do this once you have completed your ITE programme and been awarded QTS. Any issues regarding the induction instalment should be directed to ITEIncentives@gov.wales

Welsh Government is responsible for processing and paying the induction instalment. Welsh Government will determine the exact payment date.

It is your responsibility to ensure you have made this claim within the allocated timeframe.

If you leave a secondary postgraduate 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.

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

Recovery of incentive grants

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 scheme terms and conditions 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 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 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
• 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 page Privacy notice: Welsh Government grants.

The Welsh Government offers 3 incentive schemes for ITE students.

ITE Partnerships will work with their students to help identify students who meet 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 scheme. It is possible to receive grant funding under all 3 incentive schemes providing you meet the eligibility criteria for each individual scheme.

Your ITE Partnership can help you find out whether you are eligible for an incentive scheme. Any questions should be directed to them. 

Welsh in Education Teacher Retention Bursary

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

Tax

Incentive grants are not normally taxable for full-time students.

The induction instalment 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 induction instalment. 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.

If you have any further questions relating to the induction payment, contact ITEIncentives@gov.wales.