Guidance

Initial teacher training bursaries funding manual: 2023 to 2024 academic year

Updated 28 November 2024

Applies to England

Training bursary

A training bursary is a tax-free financial incentive to attract high-quality graduates into the teaching profession. The bursary amount varies according to the subject which they train to teach.

The Training bursary award and eligibility section includes:

• an overview of the financial incentives
• eligibility criteria for trainees

Training bursaries are awarded to trainees based on the classification of their first degree, but are also available to trainees who hold other relevant academic qualifications.

Scholarships

We work with professional bodies to provide a limited number of scholarships worth:

• £29,000 for trainees on mathematics, physics, computing or chemistry courses
• £27,000 for trainees on French, German or Spanish (no other languages) courses

More information about scholarships is available on the Get into Teaching website.

Training bursary award and eligibility

The training bursary rates for courses starting in the 2023 to 2024 academic year are set out in the Eligible ITT subjects section.

Training bursary awards are fixed for the duration of the trainee’s ITT programme and are not affected by the length of training.

We will publish further information regarding future training bursaries at the appropriate time. You must not make assumptions about the value or scope of training bursary awards in future years based on the information provided in this document.

Eligibility

The training bursary awarded is dependent on:

• the subject that a trainee trains to teach, not the subject of their degree or academic qualification
• the grade of their highest academic qualification

Example If a trainee with a first-class degree in biology trains to teach physics, they will be eligible for a £27,000 physics bursary. If they train to teach biology, they will be eligible for a £20,000 biology bursary.

This must not change your selection or recruitment process, including making judgements about the suitability of an applicant’s degree and other subject knowledge for the subject in which they will train.

Holding one of the following UK qualifications may mean a trainee is eligible for a bursary:

• a first-class, upper-second-class or lower-second-class undergraduate honours degree
• a master’s degree
• a doctoral degree
• a medical master’s degree (distinction)
• an aegrotat (unclassified) honours degree

There is no bursary available for awards below a lower-second-class undergraduate honours degree.

Further information about the assessment of UK academic, professional or overseas qualifications is provided in:

Eligible ITT subjects

Scholarships and training bursaries are available for the following subjects. Note: this is only applicable for postgraduate ITT.

Subject	Scholarship		Bursary
Chemistry	£29,000		£27,000
Computing	£29,000		£27,000
Mathematics	£29,000		£27,000
Physics	£29,000		£27,000
Languages (French, German and Spanish only)	£27,000		£25,000
Languages (all other languages, including ancient languages)	–		£25,000
Geography	–		£25,000
Biology	–		£20,000
Design and technology (including engineering and food technology)	–		£20,000
English	–		£15,000

Trainees cannot receive both the scholarship and training bursary.

A full breakdown of eligible subjects can be found in Annex A: list of subjects eligible for a bursary.

No other ITT courses will attract a training bursary, regardless of a trainee’s degree class.

Undergraduate bursary

A training bursary for final year undergraduates of £9,000 is available for trainees on mathematics and physics courses that lead to qualified teacher status (QTS).

The bursary is:

• available to undergraduate trainees who enrol on a QTS course beginning in the 2023 to 2024 academic year
• payable in the final year of their course

The same £9,000 training bursary is available to trainees on an opt-in undergraduate secondary mathematics, physics, computing or languages (including ancient languages) course that leads to QTS.

Trainees who are on an undergraduate course that leads to the award of QTS and also leads to the award of a master’s degree receive a £9,000 bursary in both the penultimate and final 2 years of their course. This means that the trainee will have received a total of £18,000 by the point of completion.

Undergraduate veteran teaching bursary

A training bursary worth £40,000 is available for undergraduate veterans who have left full-time employment from the:

• British Army
• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy

They must have left employment no more than 5 years before the start of their course.

The bursary will be paid in equal monthly instalments in each of the final 2 years of the course, with £20,000 payable in each year. The ITT provider should confirm the actual payment schedule with the trainee.

The bursary is available to undergraduate trainees who enrol on an eligible ITT course that leads to QTS in secondary biology, physics, chemistry, computing, mathematics or languages (including ancient languages), beginning in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Eligibility for training bursaries

For a trainee to be eligible to receive a bursary, you must make sure that, from the first day of training, the trainee meets and continues to meet the criteria set out below.

To be eligible, a trainee must:

• be eligible to receive student support
• hold a UK first degree or equivalent
• be taking a qualifying postgraduate or undergraduate ITT course in England
• be notified in writing by their ITT provider of their eligibility for the course
• comply with the terms and conditions of the bursary scheme

• not be in possession of, or eligible for QTS

• not be undertaking paid teaching work which contributes to their training when in receipt of the bursary
• not be simultaneously undertaking any other ITT course, training scheme or programme that leads to QTS

The points above should be read in conjunction with the corresponding paragraphs below, which give further guidance.

Eligibility for UK student support

In languages and physics, trainees starting courses in the 2023 to 2024 academic year will not need to be eligible for student finance to be eligible for a postgraduate bursary or scholarship. For all other subjects and routes, trainees are only eligible for a bursary or scholarship if they are entitled to support under the student finance criteria.

To receive a training bursary for all other subjects, the trainee must meet one or more of the definitions for being an ‘eligible’ student to receive grants and loans towards tuition fees or living costs, as set out in the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, part two (eligibility). For further information, refer to Student finance eligibility.

European Union (EU) nationals resident in the UK before 1 January 2021, and who qualify for pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, will continue to be eligible for home fee status and student financial support on a similar basis to domestic students, subject to meeting the usual residence requirements. For further information on those requirements, contact the Student Loans Company (SLC).

Trainees from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey may not meet one of the definitions above. However, they may still be eligible for support from their respective home education departments and, where this is the case, they will still be eligible for a training bursary on the basis that they meet all other criteria.

International students can contact the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) for advice on student support and other issues around studying in the UK.

UK first degree

You should use the trainee’s highest academic qualification to determine eligibility for a training bursary. You should be confident that a trainee’s academic qualification has the same level of breadth and depth that would be expected of a UK first degree with at least second-class honours.

This requirement does not apply for undergraduate bursaries.

Qualifying ITT course in England

To be eligible to receive a bursary, the trainee must be recruited to a qualifying postgraduate or undergraduate ITT course in England.

A qualifying course must:

• lead, upon successful completion, to a recommendation to us for the award of QTS
• be delivered by an institution accredited by us as an ITT provider, which may be in partnership with a lead school, for School Direct (tuition fee) courses
• have been granted permission by us to recruit

For further information, email becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk. Lead schools and ITT providers will only attract funding for trainees in the subjects identified in Annex A: list of subjects eligible for a bursary.

Courses that enable a trainee to be recommended for the award of qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS), or solely an academic award such as a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) without QTS, are not eligible for training bursary or scholarship funding.

Combination courses

The course content must be 50% or more of the bursary subject awarded.

For example:

• a course with content of 50% or more in mathematics and the remainder in physical education (PE) would receive the mathematics bursary
• a course with content of more than 50% PE would not be eligible for a bursary, as there is no bursary award for this subject

Courses with equal content of 2 subjects will be awarded the bursary for the subject which attracts the highest bursary rate.

For example:

• a course with content of 50% physics and 50% biology would be awarded the higher physics bursary
• a course with content of 50% languages and 50% history would be awarded a languages bursary, even though there is no bursary award for history

Determination and notification of eligibility

You must determine whether a trainee is eligible to receive a bursary and inform them in writing if this is the case. More information on bursary eligibility is available in the Admissions section.

You should make sure that trainees are informed of whether they are eligible for a bursary in good time before the start of their ITT course, and of the relevant payment schedule. An individual is only eligible for a bursary when this is confirmed in writing by their ITT provider. We cannot provide written confirmation to trainees.

Trainees who need to apply for a student visa can use the notification that they are eligible to receive a bursary as evidence that they have the money to support themselves.

You should confirm that the trainee will get official financial sponsorship when completing their confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS).

You should include all the information trainees need to provide in your written confirmation to these trainees.

If they have permission from the candidate, providers can use the bursary to offset the tuition fees. They can use the bursary either partly or in full.

Trainee requirements

We expect that trainees who accept a place with you and are eligible to receive a bursary will:

• inform you of any changes in their bank account details and address
• promptly inform you if they intend to withdraw from the course
• sign a declaration of understanding with you to the effect that they expect to seek a teaching post in England on successful completion of their course

You should also make it clear how you intend to pay the trainee.

Eligibility for QTS

Individuals who hold QTS on the first day of their ITT course are not eligible for a training bursary. Separate continuing professional development (CPD) may be appropriate for those who already hold QTS.

QTS is a legal requirement to teach in certain English schools, and considered desirable for teachers in the majority of schools in England.

There are different routes to QTS depending on where the applicant qualified and whether they already have teaching experience. We will introduce a new approach to recognition from early 2023 that will enable suitably qualified teachers from all countries to apply for QTS if their qualifications, skills and experience meet the set criteria. More details on key criteria are set out in our policy paper published on 10 June 2022.

Teachers who do not meet the new criteria will need to complete an ITT course or apply for assessment-only QTS to demonstrate they meet the standards for QTS.

You must advise applicants to apply to us where potential equivalency is identified during the recruitment process – for example, during the application or interview stage. Teachers who are successful in their application and receive QTS will not be eligible for a bursary. You can continue the bursary assessment of those trainees who are unsuccessful in their application to us. If they hold QTS and are still looking to undertake training – for example, to gain supported experience in an English school environment, they can be directed towards non-QTS ITT courses, such as a PGCE without QTS.

Potential trainees who may already be eligible to receive QTS under the conditions described above should email qts.enquiries@education.gov.uk or read the guidance at Qualified teacher status (QTS): qualify to teach in England for more information.

Individuals who hold QTLS status and are members of the Society for Education and Training (SET) are recognised as qualified teachers in maintained schools in England. They must continue to maintain their registration with SET for this recognition to be valid. Their status can be checked on SET’s professional status register. They will still be able to apply for an ITT place and receive a bursary. To receive a bursary, they must meet all the criteria specified in the Eligibility for training bursaries section.

Individuals who hold Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) are also still able to apply for an ITT place and in turn receive a bursary. However, they must meet all the criteria specified in the Eligibility for training bursaries section to be eligible.

Paid teaching work

Trainees receiving bursary payments must not receive a salary or other payment for any type of teaching work which contributes to their training whilst undertaking their ITT course.

Therefore, if the trainee’s employment is unrelated to the ITT course, and will not be used as part of the trainee’s assessment – for example, against the teachers’ standards – then the trainee may receive a salary for this work alongside their bursary payments.

Trainees are deemed to be employed as a teacher if they are employed under a contract of employment or services with one or more local authority, governing body or institution to:

• be the head teacher or principal of one or more schools or institutions
• carry out one or more of a range of specified activities at one or more schools or institutions

This definition of a teacher can include people employed by a local authority to teach as a supply teacher in schools maintained by that authority, but does not include people employed by private teacher supply agencies or private tutors.

The definition of a teacher includes ‘unqualified’ teachers who meet one or more of the descriptions set out in paragraphs 2 and 4 to 9 of schedule 2 in the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012.

Under this definition, teachers are permitted to carry out ‘specified activity’, including:

• delivering lessons
• assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils

You should refer to these regulations for the full definition of ‘specified activity’.

Undertaking other training leading to QTS

To be eligible for a training bursary, trainees must not simultaneously undertake any other:

• ITT course
• training schemes or programmes leading to QTS

Admissions

You must make sure that those responsible for making decisions on bursary eligibility are familiar with or have access to guidance on the range of qualifications generally regarded as equivalent to a first degree in the UK. These may include:

• overseas qualifications
• professional or vocational qualifications
• qualifications no longer available but held by mature applicants

You should be aware of the range of degrees awarded by UK institutions. In all cases, you are responsible for deciding whether an individual’s highest relevant academic qualification meets the bursary eligibility criteria. This includes determining whether a particular qualification demonstrates the breadth and type of academic engagement that would be expected from a bachelor’s degree with honours, a master’s degree or a doctoral degree.

You must keep an audit trail of how you assess equivalency. In determining equivalency, you may:

• consult internal colleagues, such as those in the relevant subject department
• consult external organisations, such as the awarding body of the equivalent qualification
• conduct a review of the course content or transcripts of the other qualification

We reserve the right to request this information for assurance purposes and to ensure the robustness of your processes.

Where ITT providers lack the institutional experience to assess the validity of academic qualifications, they should refer to the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.

Teaching outside of England after the award of QTS

ITT providers should seek assurances from trainees in receipt of a bursary that they intend to seek a teaching post in England upon successful completion of their course.

We will collect data on trainees who are not domiciled in England and are accessing bursaries. We reserve the right to request further information from ITT providers with high levels of trainees who are domiciled outside of England.

Scholarships

We work with professional bodies to provide a limited number of scholarships worth:

• £29,000 for trainees on chemistry, computing, mathematics or physics courses
• £27,000 for trainees on French, German or Spanish (no other languages) courses

More information about these scholarships is available on the Get into Teaching website.

Trainees cannot receive both the scholarship and training bursary. Trainees whose scholarship application is unsuccessful may be eligible for a training bursary.

We are responsible for administering scholarship payments to you. These payments will be made via the standard training bursary funding process. You are then responsible for making payments to the trainee.

The relevant professional body will assess the applicant’s eligibility and inform them if they have been recommended for the scholarship. They should use their discretion when considering degree classification and subject knowledge. Further details can be found on the websites of the relevant organisations, which are:

• Chemistry: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
• Computing: BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT (BCS)
• Mathematics: Institute of Mathematics & its Applications (IMA)
• Physics: Institute of Physics (IoP)
• French, German and Spanish: British Council (BC)

The applicant must secure an eligible chemistry, computing, mathematics, physics, French, German or Spanish ITT tuition-fee-based (provider-led or School Direct tuition fee) programme place by 1 September 2023 for the scholarship award to be valid.

An applicant will lose their scholarship entitlement if they are unable to secure a place on an eligible course by this date.

Courses that enable a trainee to be recommended for the award of QTLS or a solely academic award such as PGCE without QTS upon successful completion are not eligible for training bursary or scholarship funding.

It is not necessary for applicants to secure an eligible ITT place before applying for a scholarship. They may apply for the scholarship at any time before applying for or starting an ITT place.

Trainees are responsible for informing their ITT provider (and providing evidence) that they have been recommended for a scholarship. You must make sure that each trainee in receipt of a scholarship is identified appropriately within Register Trainee Teachers (Register).

You remain responsible for selecting trainees for courses regardless of their recommendation for a scholarship. Recommendation for a scholarship does not override or take priority over the criteria as set out in the Eligibility for training bursaries section. Trainees must meet all the eligibility criteria to receive the scholarship funding.

Trainees are advised to read the guidance on the Get into Teaching website for more information about scholarship awards.

Bursary and scholarship payments

You are responsible for the management and administration of bursary payments, including:

• assessment of eligibility
• awarding the bursary to the trainee
• drawing up terms and conditions relating to receipt of the bursary

If a trainee is found to be ineligible for the bursary, we will recover any bursary payments made to you. The recovery of any bursary overpayments will then be an internal matter between you and the trainee.

If you pay the Student Loans Company (SLC) to administer the bursary, you remain responsible and accountable for the management of this funding.

You should make bursary and scholarship payments to trainees throughout the academic year, as detailed in Annex D: value and timing of training bursary payments.

These payments are not taxable. However, as with student maintenance loans, they may be treated as capital income for the purposes of assessing income for trainees in receipt of state benefits. We advise you to refer trainees to GOV.UK to check their eligibility for state benefits.

Payment eligibility

Trainees will be entitled to receive the first bursary payment if they are actively engaged in the ITT programme on the first day of the month following their start date.

Example A trainee commencing their course in September 2023 will be entitled to their first payment if they are actively engaged in the programme on 1 October 2023. They will be entitled to the second payment if they are on the programme on 1 November 2023, and so on. This is regardless of the provider’s individual payment date.

If a trainee completes their course before the end of the academic year, they may receive the full balance of the bursary in the month that they complete the course.

Training bursary funding must not be paid:

• as part of maternity or paternity pay arrangements
• during a period of unauthorised absence

In the event that a trainee is absent through sickness, you may only make one further payment following the first day of absence. After this, the absence should be treated as a period of deferral and payments must stop with immediate effect.

Example A trainee’s first day of sickness absence is 15 November 2023. The provider may make one further payment as the trainee is still considered active on 1 December 2023, but no further payments must be made beyond this until the trainee returns to the course.

If the trainee then returns on 15 February 2024, they will next be entitled to a bursary payment if they are still active on 1 March 2024. The next payment must not include the payments that the trainee missed by being absent on 1 January and 1 February.

These principles also apply to trainees who start their postgraduate or undergraduate courses later in the academic year – for example, if a trainee commences their course in January 2024, they will be entitled to their first payment if they are actively engaged in the programme on 1 February 2024.

Payments must not start before the trainee commences the course.

You must maintain an audit trail of all payments made to trainees and any decisions about payment structures. We maintain the right to request this information at any time for assurance purposes.

Withdrawals and deferrals

A withdrawal is when a trainee who has started a course informs their provider they no longer wish to continue.

A deferral is when a trainee who has started a course agrees with their provider for their course to be paused temporarily and confirms that they intend to return.

Eligible trainees who withdraw or defer from a course will be entitled to payment for each month up to and including the month in which they formally withdraw.

Example If a trainee starts their programme in September 2023 and withdraws or defers in January 2024, they will be entitled to 4 payments in total, as they were engaged in the course on:

• 1 October 2023
• 1 November 2023
• 1 December 2023
• 1 January 2024

Withdrawal or deferral information should reflect the dates given to Student Finance England for student support purposes.

In the event of withdrawal or deferral, you must:

• suspend all bursary payments to the trainee immediately
• make sure that their records are updated in Register, detailing the formal withdrawal date

We will recover any overpayments made to you after the trainee has withdrawn or deferred and will not reimburse you for any payments made to trainees in error. The recovery of any bursary overpayments will then be an internal matter between you and the trainee.

Returning trainees

Returning trainees who defer and then re-join their original course, or take any advanced standing or credit to a new ITT course, will only be eligible to receive the remaining bursary award up to the value which was available in the year that they started their original course. A bespoke payment schedule may be agreed for the remaining amount between you and the trainee.

Where the length of the course is increased, the bursary instalments can be amended to reflect the longer timeframe. The total bursary amount, however, is fixed and cannot be increased.

If you require bursary funding to be added to their payment profile to accommodate trainees who re-commence in 2023 to 2024 academic year, you must contact the ITT funding team with the relevant trainee and funding details upon their return.

If a trainee leaves one ITT course and joins a new one with no transfer of standing or credit from their previous course, and they are being charged a new tuition fee, this is viewed as a separate route to QTS. They will be entitled to receive a new bursary, subject to the eligibility criteria and rates set out in this guidance.

If the trainee has received their full bursary entitlement during a previous ITT programme, this may impact their eligibility to receive bursary funding while completing a new programme in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Email the funding team at ITT.Funding@education.gov.uk for further guidance.

Monitoring, assurance and data requirements

Monitoring and assurance

We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds and assets generated from applicable ITT places are properly managed in line with the grant funding agreements (GFAs) held by ITT providers.

You will be required to demonstrate that you have administered all bursary funding in accordance with your GFA, including:

• selecting and recruiting the highest-quality candidates to programmes of ITT
• designing and delivering high-quality programmes of ITT
• rigorously assessing trainees against all of the relevant standards for QTS, and only support the recommendation of those trainees that have been deemed to have met them
• demonstrating propriety and adequate controls in your financial management and compliance with relevant financial reporting or governance requirements
• complying with our data requirements and requests, as stipulated in all our guidance
• passing on 100% of the training bursary funding issued to you under your grant funding agreement to the trainee

You must hold full records for all trainees in receipt of bursaries, including evidence of trainees’ academic qualifications achieved prior to starting their ITT course.

Trainees must hold the highest eligible qualification on which their assessment was based prior to starting the course. We reserve the right to request this evidence from you at any point during the academic year, for the purpose of quality monitoring and funding assurance. This may include copies of original documentation provided by trainees, including qualification certificates.

We also expect to see evidence of:

• payments you have made to trainees
• evidence of trainee attendance or 120 days’ training
• confirmation of any dates you have made reference to

It is advisable to keep records for 3 years after each cohort has finished their course.

We will use annual and interim census data collections and the Annex G process to seek rigorous assurance of all bursary payments. Your accounting officer must verify these data sets. We will contact you with further details of the Annex G process after the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

We will review the allocated training bursary funding that you receive and reconcile this amount with the trainee records submitted at each census point. Funding will be adjusted at these points to meet the actual amount required. Where funding that you have received is more than the amount you were entitled to, we will recover the excess by invoicing you or offsetting this amount against any future payments.

Remember to make sure that all trainee records in Register are complete. This includes amending the records of trainees who:

• withdraw or defer from their ITT programme
• start later in academic year 2023 to 2024
• return from earlier academic years

We reserve the right to delay or withhold payments if data is inaccurate or incomplete.

We will carry out a reconciliation exercise between the bursaries allocated and the actual trainee records as confirmed by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) data collection exercises. In the event of any variances, particularly with regard to unclassified degrees, we reserve the right to ask you for explanations of the variances and to seek further information. We will not reimburse you for any bursaries paid to ineligible trainees.

You will be asked to complete an Annex G in accordance with published guidance, containing income, expenditure and trainee data. This has to be independently audited and countersigned by the accounting officer. See Annex F: assurance and audit process for further guidance.

We will use this information to reconcile the funding that you have received with your declared expenditure, taking into account the effect of withdrawn and deferred trainees. Prior to the Annex G, we will request an interim return to provide an indicative training bursary expenditure figure, so that we know what is likely to be spent on the programme.

We will write to you regarding the interim indicative return and issue more detailed guidance regarding the Annex G at the end of academic year 2023 to 2024 so that you are able to comply with your GFA requirements.

Failure to fully comply with monitoring and assurance requirements may result in non-compliance, which could lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation.

Data requirements and reporting

You must submit relevant data to us, including:

• the data required to complete the ITT census return in October 2023
• applications
• recruitment and employment outcomes

Failure to comply with requests for data may result in non-compliance, which could lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation.

Data requirements for schools

Lead schools are required to give accurate data to their partner ITT provider about the schools in which each trainee is undertaking training. This must include the dates of the training periods, so that this can be uploaded into Register.

Data requirements for higher education institution (HEI) providers

Trainee data will be collected via the HESA ITT collection. You are required to submit trainee-level data. Trainees will have teacher training course codes which will be confirmed in due course.

Providers with School Direct trainees are required to identify the lead school and up to 5 placement schools for each trainee.

Full details of the process are available in Register. Further information is sent out before the start of each new academic year.

Data requirements for non-HEI providers

Non-HEI ITT providers need to submit trainee-level data.

Provider-led or School Direct trainees can be identified by selecting the appropriate route options on the trainee form. For School Direct trainees, ITT providers will be required to identify the lead school and up to 5 schools where the trainee will be undertaking their training during their ITT course.

Full details of the process are available in the Register guidance document. Further information is sent out before the start of each academic year.

If you have any queries about the submission of trainee-level data, email the data team at becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk.

International relocation payments

The international relocation payment (IRP) is a single payment of £10,000 which will be available to trainees and teachers of languages and physics from outside the UK.

To be eligible, they must be coming to England to work or train in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. The payment reflects the costs of:

• visas
• the immigration health surcharge
• relocation

It will be paid around the end of the first term and will not need to be repaid.

Eligibility

Trainees can only receive the IRP once. They will not be eligible for the IRP if they are:

• already living in the UK
• undergoing assessment only QTS

To be eligible, teacher trainees must meet all 3 of the following requirements.

1. They must have taken up a place on a teacher training course in England for the academic year 2023 to 2024, starting before 1 July 2024. This must lead to qualified teacher status and be delivered by an accredited provider. They must be training to teach one of the following:

• any secondary language or languages except English, including courses with at least 50% languages content
• secondary physics, including:
  • engineers teach physics
  • courses with at least 50% physics content

2. They must come to the UK on one of the following visas:

• Skilled worker visa
• Student visa
• Youth Mobility Scheme
• Family visa
• UK Ancestry visa
• British National (Overseas) visa
• High Potential Individual visa
• Afghan citizens resettlement scheme
• Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy
• Ukraine Family Scheme visa
• Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme
• India Young Professionals Scheme

Candidates will not be able to use the IRP as evidence that they have enough money to support themselves when applying for their visa.

3. They must move to the UK no more than 3 months before the start of their course.

How the IRP will be paid

The Department for Education will work with teacher training providers to pay the IRP to eligible trainees on the bursaries model. Salaried trainees will receive the money directly from DfE.

Fee-paying trainees

Trainees on fee-paying courses will not need to apply for the IRP, which will be paid as follows.

1. Providers will receive an automated email when candidates who may be eligible apply for teacher training positions.

2. If you award these candidates a place, you should check their eligibility for the IRP against their chosen subject. You should also check whether they will come to the UK to study on an IRP eligible visa. DfE and the Home Office will carry out further checks.

3. You should inform trainees that they are potentially eligible by email. You should make it clear that they will not receive the IRP until verification checks have been completed by DfE and the Home Office. We expect this to happen towards the end of the first term of study, with funds to be paid to the ITT provider in December. You must also request their passport number, if you don’t already do so as part of your onboarding process.

4. When you submit your trainee data to the register trainee teachers service, you’ll be asked to record any trainees you think will be eligible for the IRP.

5. DfE will validate trainees’ eligibility for the IRP based on their subject.

6. DfE will ask you for a passport number for all potentially eligible trainees. You should supply this within 10 working days to avoid delays to the IRP payment.

7. DfE will work with the Home Office to validate trainees’ eligibility for the IRP based on their immigration status and how long they have spent in the UK.

8. DfE will then inform you of trainees who meet all eligibility requirements, so you can confirm this with them. You must not confirm to trainees that they are eligible before receiving confirmation from DfE.

9. Providers who have a grant funding agreement in place will receive IRP funding in the next available payment run. We expect this process to be completed towards the end of the first term of study, with IRP funds for eligible trainees to be paid in December.

Trainees who already have a place for the academic year 2023 to 2024

DfE will contact providers who have already recruited trainees who may be eligible for the IRP.

To avoid trainees missing out on the IRP, you should also check your records for any potentially eligible trainees. You will then need to inform those trainees that they may receive the IRP, following the process outlined above.

Salaried trainees

Trainees on salaried courses will need to apply for the IRP. They can email us at IRP.ExpressInterest@education.gov.uk to be sent a link to express their interest.

Salaried trainees will need to apply to DfE for the IRP in autumn 2023, once they have arrived in the UK and taken up their training places.

DfE will verify eligibility with the employing school and the Home Office, and then pay the IRP to eligible salaried trainees around the end of the first term.

The IRP, bursaries and scholarships

Eligible trainees can receive both the international relocation payment and a bursary or scholarship.

Monitoring, assurance and data requirements

DfE has a responsibility to make sure that public funds and assets generated from applicable ITT places are properly managed in line with the grant funding agreements held by ITT providers.

You will be required to demonstrate that you have administered all funding in accordance with your grant funding agreements and all agreed variations.

We will check the funding allocated against the actual trainee records as part of our usual assurance exercise, to assure all funding that we have paid to you.

Failure to fully comply with the monitoring and assurance requirements in ITT allocations and funding may lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation.

Further information on international relocation payments

For more information or to get help, email us at teach.inengland@education.gov.uk.

Visit Get into Teaching for guidance for trainees on fee-paying and salaried courses.

Annex A: list of subjects eligible for a bursary

We will provide bursaries for the following ITT programmes:

• biology
• chemistry
• computing
• design and technology
• English
• Geography
• languages (including ancient languages)
• mathematics
• physics

Funding will not be provided for any subjects that are not included in this list.

Annex B: assessing UK academic qualifications

Honours and ordinary bachelor’s degrees

The Higher Education Credit Framework for England (HECF) states that someone who holds a bachelor’s degree with honours will have developed an understanding of a complex body of knowledge, some of it at the current boundaries of an academic discipline.

In addition, holders of this award will be able to evaluate evidence, arguments and assumptions to reach sound judgements and communicate them effectively.

Honours degree holders will usually have completed an independent dissertation or thesis relating to the subject in which they are specialising and will have considerably fewer contact hours than an ordinary degree. The length of study for a full-time bachelor’s degree with honours is usually 3 years, while part-time courses are usually longer. Honours degrees require 360 credits for completion.

Ordinary bachelor’s degrees are largely a taught degree programme with less specialisation or independent study involved. The outcome can sometimes be a licence to train in a particular subject, such as accounting. A trainee may sometimes be transferred from an honours programme onto an ordinary degree programme if they’ve not achieved the required grades throughout the programme to graduate with honours.

Open degrees from the Open University awarded without honours would fall into this category and would not be eligible for bursaries in their own right. Trainees may be able to study a further 60 credit module to convert these degrees to honours, but this may not necessarily uplift the trainee’s final classification to the level necessary for bursary eligibility. Trainees in this position are advised to contact the Open University for advice.

List of eligible academic qualifications

You can determine what bursary award trainees will receive, based on their highest academic qualification.

Holding one of the following qualifications may mean a trainee is eligible for a bursary:

• a first-class, upper-second-class or lower-second-class undergraduate honours degree
• a master’s degree.
• a doctoral degree, not including honorary doctorates
• a medical master’s degree (distinction)
• an aegrotat (unclassified) honours degree

Trainees with an ordinary degree, aegrotat ordinary degree, postgraduate certificate (PGCert) or diploma (PGDip) only are not eligible for a bursary.

The master of arts status conferred on application by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford does not result in its holders being eligible for a bursary.

Trainees who do not hold a degree are not eligible for a bursary.

If a trainee is ineligible for a bursary award but feels that there are extenuating circumstances which impacted their final result, this must be raised with the awarding body of the qualification. ITT providers must not apply any discretion in these cases.

If the outcome of a qualification – for example, a master’s or doctoral degree – is not yet known, bursary eligibility must be determined by the highest relevant academic award on the date the training course started. If the trainee is subsequently awarded a higher qualification, their bursary eligibility may be reassessed, provided the award of this qualification was made on or before the date the course started. Email ITT.funding@education.gov.uk for further guidance in these circumstances.

Medical first degrees

First degrees in medicine, which are qualifying awards in professional terms, are not classified. Although usually titled ‘bachelor’, they are at level 7 (master’s level) on the HECF. However, this only applies to degrees that are 5 years in length.

You may consider the following as equivalent to a lower-second-class honours degree or above:

• 5-year degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and surgery
• medical bachelor’s degrees, often called bachelor of medical science (BMedSci), which may be awarded as exit awards to students who satisfy the criteria specified but fail to meet the criteria for progression to the fourth or fifth year of the qualifying medical degree

A number of award titles may be used in both categories of award. We advise you to check individual cases with the relevant awarding bodies before making a decision about awarding bursaries.

Professional and vocational qualifications

Providers will need to make sure that those responsible for decisions on entry understand or have access to advice on the range of professional and vocational qualifications generally regarded as equivalent to a first (bachelor’s) degree at 2:2 or above.

It is for you to decide whether a candidate’s qualification meets this criterion, and whether it demonstrates the breadth and type of academic engagement that would be expected from first-degree study. Partnerships that do not include degree-awarding bodies may wish to seek advice from those that do.

Annex C: assessing overseas qualifications

Overseas degree equivalency

We have introduced an overseas qualification service, available via the Get into Teaching website. The service includes:

• an initial verbal check to advise candidates on what their qualifications are equivalent to (guidance only)
• a written statement of comparability from the European National Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK ENIC), paid for on behalf of the candidate (if required) and only available once a candidate has applied to ITT

The verbal check is a candidate-based advice service offering candidates guidance on their eligibility prior to applying. The final decision on eligibility still lies with you before the start of ITT.

When selecting trainees with overseas degrees, you should make sure their qualification complies with the ITT criteria. A statement of comparability can be obtained from UK ENIC, which will confirm whether or not it is comparable to a British bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree.

However, the statement of comparability cannot be used to establish the classification of the trainee’s degree, you must make a professional assessment to determine eligibility.

You must hold full records of all trainees in receipt of bursaries, including any qualifications or training they referenced in their application which was achieved before starting their ITT.

Equivalent grading

Where the trainee’s first degree can be compared to either a British bachelor’s degree or a British bachelor’s degree with honours, but there is no actual grading of the degree available, ITT providers may award a bursary if you are satisfied the degree is of the same depth and breadth as the bursary award would indicate.

Decisions on eligibility must be based solely on the content of the qualification itself and must not include any unrelated additional qualifications or experience.

We reserve the right to request these details from you at any point during the academic year for the purpose of monitoring the robustness of your processes.

This may include:

• copies of original documentation provided by trainees, including qualification certificates
• correspondence related to the decision-making process – for example, advice from internal colleagues or external organisations such as awarding bodies

Many overseas qualifications sit either above or below British bachelor’s or British bachelor’s degree with honours. ITT providers may wish to request a statement of comparability from UK ENIC to verify the actual degree itself before making any judgement about bursary eligibility.

If an overseas qualification is not equivalent to at least a second-class-honours degree, it will be considered equivalent to an ordinary or third-class degree.

Unless you consider, in your own assessment, that the degree should be equivalent to at least a second-class-honours degree, and you are able to provide evidence which supports your assessment, you should not award a bursary.

Equivalent master’s and doctoral degrees

Trainees who hold overseas master’s and doctoral degrees may be assessed for eligibility. ITT providers should obtain a statement of comparability from UK ENIC, if necessary.

Where a trainee’s degree is comparable to a British master’s or doctorate level, these degrees should be treated as equivalent, and the appropriate bursary should be awarded for eligible ITT subjects.

You should use your professional judgement in determining any bursary awards for overseas master’s or doctoral degrees which are not equivalent to a UK master’s or doctoral degree.

In exceptional cases, trainees who hold overseas bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees that all sit below British bachelor’s honours degree standard may be awarded a bursary if the ITT provider is able to provide a strong case backed up by a full audit trail for bursary eligibility.

Annex D: value and timing of training bursary payments

Payments for full-time courses

Bursary awards should be paid in a minimum of 10 equal monthly instalments over the duration of the course.

Bursary award		Value of monthly instalments (for 10-month payment structure)
£15,000		£1,500
£20,000		£2,000
£25,000		£2,500
£27,000		£2,700

Payments for part-time or modular courses

Trainees on part-time or modular courses may agree a flexible monthly payment plan which covers the duration of the part-time programme. You must, however, make sure that the bursary payments reflect the proportion of the course that the trainee has completed at any point.

As part-time courses will span more than one academic year, you may award the bursary beyond the 2023 to 2024 academic year. You are reminded that any bursary payments made after 31 July of the academic year will be included as expenditure for the following academic year – for example, 2024 to 2025.

Annex E: training bursary funding cycle

These are the key dates in the bursary funding cycle.

June to July 2023

In your first year of delivery, you will be contacted in order to submit your grant funding agreements (GFA) to us. If other documents, such as letters of variation, are required, we will contact individual ITT providers separately.

August 2023

Apply acceptance data is incorporated into the training bursary model. This allows us to make interim payments to you from September to November 2023.

September to November 2023

The first 3 payments will be made if you have a GFA in place. This will be based on your apply acceptance data. Payment profiles are available in Register during this period.

November 2023

Your Register data is incorporated into the training bursary model to confirm payments from December 2023.

This is based on the trainee registration returns submitted through either HESA or Register on or before the census closure date.

December 2023 to January 2024

These payments will be made, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Register is available for you to see bursary summaries and payment profiles.

February to April 2024

Your data in Register will be updated in the training bursary model in February 2023 to include any changes that you have submitted, through either HESA or Register, in January 2024, since the census was published.

These payments will be made, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Register is available for you to see bursary summaries and payment profiles.

May to July 2024

Your data in Register will be updated in the training bursary model in May 2024 to include any changes that you have submitted, through either HESA or Register, up to April 2024.

These payments will be made, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Register is available for you to see bursary summaries and payment profiles.

Annex F: assurance and audit process

These are the key events in the bursary funding cycle.

June to July 2024

We will send indicative Annex G documents to you in July 2024. These should be returned by 31 July 2024.

September to December 2024

We will send final Annex G documents to you at the end of the academic year. We will pre-populate this with the amount of funding you have received, and the trainees that funding includes.

The completed document and auditor report will help you to provide us with the necessary assurance for both the amount received and the purpose for which it was used. Further guidance on this process will be sent to you at the same time. These should be returned by 31 December 2024.

January to March 2025

In addition to the audited document and auditor report, we also apply a sampling process to gain assurance of the bursary expenditure. This involves assurance checks through the collection of evidence on sampled trainees, including trainee ID, withdrawals, course information, degree class and payment information.

Recoveries and reimbursements will be completed through the payment profile, invoice or credit memo.