The government is releasing incentive payments to show support for Further Education teachers, and applications opened this month! Between 14th October 2024 and 31st March 2025 is your chance to apply.
What is a Retention Incentive Payment?
These are financial bonuses offered to lecturers and instructors in high-demand subjects (such as educators in STEM or Early Years). By providing these incentives, the government hopes to retain experienced and qualified teachers, ensuring that FE colleges have the skilled staff necessary to deliver quality education.
Who Can Apply?
These are some of the conditions you need to meet:
•Teaching Experience: You must be in the first five years of your FE teaching career (2019+).
•Teaching Pattern: You must teach more than 2.5 hours a week.
•Student Ages: Over half of your students are aged 16 to 19 (or up to age 25 if they have an Education, Health and Care Plan).
•Course and Student Focus: At least 50% of your teaching hours must be spent teaching eligible FE courses (listed below) at level 3 or lower.
If you hold only an assessor qualification, you will need to enrol in a teaching qualification within the next 12 months to remain eligible.
Which Subjects are Eligible?
The following subjects are eligible for the 2024-2025 academic year:
•Building and Construction
•Chemistry
•Computing (including digital and ICT)
•Early Years
•Engineering and Manufacturing (including transport engineering and electronics)
•Maths
•Physics
To find out if your specific course qualifies, be sure to take a look at the full list of eligible FE courses. This list will be updated in spring 2025 with any changes for the 2025-2026 academic year.
What You Could Receive
The retention incentive payment ranges between £2,000 and £6,000, depending on factors such as the FE provider where you teach and the level of disadvantaged students you teach.
Payments are made in a lump sum each year. The amount you receive depends on your teaching hours:
•2.5 to 12 hours per week: £2,000 to £3,000
•12 hours or more per week: £4,000 to £6,000
For teachers on short-term or variable contracts, eligibility is based on teaching for one full term before applying and already being scheduled to teach in the following term.
When and How to Apply
For the 2024-2025 academic year, the application window is now open, and you must submit your claim by 31st March 2025.
You can apply via the official page!
The targeted retention incentive is a great opportunity for new FE teachers working in critical subject areas to receive financial support.
