Targeted retention incentive payments for FE teachers
Eligible further education (FE) teachers can apply for the first round of targeted retention incentive payments until 31 March 2025.
Applies to England
Apply for a targeted retention incentive payment
Apply to claim a payment. You need to apply before 31 March 2025.
You can also set up a reminder to apply for a payment in the future.
Eligible FE teachers can claim a targeted retention incentive payment for teaching specific courses in the following subject areas:
- building and construction
- chemistry
- computing, including digital and ICT
- early years
- engineering and manufacturing, including transport engineering and electronics
- maths
- physics
Check the full list of eligible FE courses to see if you can claim a payment. We’ll update the eligibility criteria for the 2025 to 2026 academic year in spring 2025.
When to apply
For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, applications opened on 14 October 2024.
You must claim by 31 March 2025.
You must be in the first 5 years of your FE teaching career to claim. This means it must be 5 years or less since you started your first role with teaching responsibilities at an FE provider in England.
If you were employed as a teacher in FE in England in the 2019 to 2020 academic year or before, you’re not eligible to claim.
Use the table to find out when you can apply for a targeted retention incentive payment.
| Year you first taught in FE | Academic year in which to apply |
|---|---|
| 2020 to 2021 | 2024 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 2024 and 2025 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 2024 and 2025 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 2024 and 2025 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 2024 and 2025 |
The academic year runs from 1 September to 31 August. Applications open in October of the year shown.
You cannot make a claim for a specific year once the application window for that year has closed.
What you’ll get
For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, the targeted retention incentive payment ranges from £2,000 to £6,000, depending on:
- the provider you teach at
- the number of hours you teach
If you teach at an FE provider that has higher levels of disadvantage, you’ll receive a higher payment. This is based on the proportion of 16 to 19 students who attract disadvantage funding.
A is available.
Who is eligible
You can apply for a payment if you:
- are employed as an FE teacher in England
- are employed by an eligible FE provider
- are in your first 5 years of teaching in FE in England
- spend at least half of your hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses at level 3 or below
- teach more than 2 and a half hours a week
- spend at least half of your hours teaching 16- to 19-year-olds (study programmes, T levels or apprenticeships) including people up to the age of 25 with an EHCP
- are not currently subject to any formal performance measures as a result of continuous poor teaching standards
- are not currently subject to any disciplinary action
You must also meet one of the following criteria:
- have a teaching qualification
- are currently enrolled on and working towards a teaching qualification
- intend to enrol on a teaching qualification within the next 12 months
If you only hold an assessor qualification, you are only eligible if either you:
- are enrolled on a teaching qualification
- intend to enrol on a teaching qualification in the next 12 months
We also expect you to have developed, enhanced and maintained your teaching competences and practices, or have plans to do so.
Eligible FE providers
An eligible FE provider in England must employ you as a teacher. Eligible providers are:
-
statutory FE providers, such as:
- FE colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- designated institutions
- 16- to 19-only academies and schools
Eligible roles
You must be employed directly by an eligible provider as a member of staff with teaching responsibilities, in a role such as:
- advanced practitioner
- practitioner
- instructor
- lecturer
- teacher
- trainer
- tutor
Breaks in teaching
You’re still eligible if you have some breaks in your normal employment such as:
- sickness
- maternity or paternity leave
- parental or adoption leave
If you submit a claim during breaks in teaching, answer the questions based on your usual working pattern during normal employment.
You should apply for payments as usual during any breaks in teaching, before the claim window closes each year.
When you’ll not be eligible
You’ll not be eligible to claim if you:
- are employed as support staff or a non-teaching leader
- are employed by a private supply-teaching agency or a non-statutory FE provider
- were employed as an FE teacher in England in or before the 2019 to 2020 academic year
- have already claimed a targeted retention incentive payment for 2024 to 2025
- are receiving an FE initial teacher education bursary for 2024 to 2025
Eligible FE courses
We have included subjects that are:
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the same as those eligible for the targeted retention incentive for secondary school teachers
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linked to critical skills priorities and currently have the highest unfilled teaching vacancy rates in the statutory FE sector
Only selected early years courses are eligible. We have listed these separately.
You must spend at least half of your hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses.
Speak to your employer if you’re unsure if your teaching fits one of these categories.
| Subject | Course |
|---|---|
| Building and construction | Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the building and construction sector subject area |
| T Level in building services engineering for construction | |
| T Level in on-site construction | |
| T Level in design, surveying and planning for construction | |
| level 2 or level 3 apprenticeships in the construction and the built environment occupational route | |
| Chemistry | A or AS level in chemistry |
| GCSE in chemistry | |
| IBO level 3 SL and HL chemistry, taught as part of a diploma or career related programme or as a standalone certificate | |
| IBO level 1 / level 2 MYP chemistry | |
| Computing | Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the Digital technology (practitioners) sector subject area |
| Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the Digital technology for users sector subject area | |
| digital functional skills qualifications and essential digital skills qualifications | |
| T Level in digital support services | |
| T Level in digital business services | |
| T Level in digital production, design and development | |
| IBO level 3 SL and HL computer science, taught as part of a diploma or career related programme or as a standalone certificate | |
| level 2 or level 3 apprenticeships in the digital occupational route | |
| Engineering and manufacturing | Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the engineering sector subject area |
| Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area | |
| Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the transportation operations and maintenance sector subject area | |
| T Level in design and development for engineering and manufacturing | |
| T Level in maintenance, installation and repair for engineering and manufacturing | |
| T Level in engineering, manufacturing, processing and control | |
| level 2 or level 3 apprenticeships in the engineering and manufacturing occupational route | |
| Maths | Qualifications approved for funding at level 3 and below in the mathematics and statistics sector subject area |
| GCSE in maths, functional skills qualifications and other maths qualifications for teaching to 16- to 19-year-olds who meet the condition of funding | |
| Physics | A or AS level in physics |
| GCSE in physics | |
| IBO level 1 / level 2 MYP physics | |
| IBO level 3 in SL and HL physics, taught as part of a diploma or career related programme or as a standalone certificate |
Eligible early years courses
The following early years apprenticeships and T Levels are eligible.
| Course type | Course |
|---|---|
| Apprenticeship | early years practitioner (level 2) apprenticeship |
| early years educator (level 3) apprenticeship | |
| T Level | T Level in education and early years (specialism - early years educator) – this is only eligible when assessed in the early year foundation stage, and in an early years setting in England |
The following early years qualifications are also eligible.
We have only included those early years qualifications:
- approved for funding at level 3 and below
- where providers can count the recipient in staff:child ratios – we have taken all entries from the early years qualifications list on 14 October 2024
Knowledge only pathways for any of the early years qualifications listed are not eligible.
| Awarding organisation | Course |
|---|---|
| BIIAB | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner |
| City and Guilds | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner (England) |
| level 3 advanced technical extended diploma for the early years practitioner (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma for the early years practitioner (early years educator) | |
| Crossfields Institute | level 3 diploma in holistic baby and child care (early years educator) |
| FutureQuals | level 3 diploma in early years education and childcare (early years educator) |
| Focus Awards | level 3 diploma for the children’s workforce (early years educator) (RQF) |
| Innovative Awarding | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner |
| level 3 diploma in early learning and childcare (early years educator) | |
| iCan Qualifications | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner |
| level 3 diploma in early learning and childcare (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in children’s learning and development (early years educator) | |
| NCFE CACHE | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner |
| level 3 diploma for the early years workforce (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma for working in the early years sector (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in childcare and education (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in early years education and care (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in early years Montessori pedagogy - birth to 7 (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in holistic baby and child care (early years educator) | |
| level 3 diploma in Montessori pedagogy – birth to 7 (early years educator) | |
| technical level 3 diploma in childcare and education (early years educator) | |
| technical level 3 diploma in early years education and care (early years educator) | |
| Pearson | BTEC level 2 diploma for early years practitioners |
| level 2 technical diploma in children’s play, learning and development (early years practitioner) | |
| level 3 national diploma in children’s play, learning and development (early years educator) | |
| level 3 national extended diploma in children’s play, learning and development (early years educator) | |
| Edexcel level 3 diploma in children’s learning and development (early years educator) | |
| Training Qualifications UK | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner (RQF) |
| level 3 diploma for the children’s workforce (early years educator) | |
| VTCT (Skillsfirst) | level 2 diploma for the early years practitioner (RQF) |
| level 3 diploma for the children and young people’s workforce (early years educator) |
Payments
We make the payment in one lump sum each year.
If you’re employed on a permanent contract, or a fixed term contract covering the 2024 to 2025 academic year, and you teach:
- 12 hours or more a week, you’re eligible for £4,000 to £6,000
- fewer than 12 hours but more than 2 and a half hours a week, you’re eligible for £2,000 to £3,000
Teachers on variable-hours contracts
If you’re employed on a variable-hours or a short-term fixed contract, you must:
- have worked for one term before applying
- be timetabled to teach in the next term
If your teaching hours over the current term are:
- 12 hours or more a week, you’re eligible for £4,000 to £6,000
- fewer than 12 hours but more than 2 and a half hours a week, you’re eligible for £2,000 to £3,000
These hours refer to teaching hours and not total working hours. If you’re unsure about the hours you teach, check with your employer.
Taxable income and National Insurance
We’ll pay National Insurance and basic rate Income Tax for the payment on your behalf. If you are or become a higher-rate taxpayer, you’ll need to pay any Income Tax at the higher rate through PAYE.
The payment is not part of your salary from your employer. You, your employer or the government will not make a contribution to your pension as part of this payment.
Your payment, along with the Income Tax and National Insurance contributions paid on your behalf, will all count towards your income. You should consider how this will affect any other benefits or tax credits.
Student loan deductions
If you have a student loan you’re currently paying off, a deduction will go towards repaying it. This is automatically taken from your payment.
Contact
For queries about targeted retention incentive payments, email:
FE-targeted.retention-incentive@education.gov.uk
Updates to this page
Published 4 September 2024Last updated 14 October 2024 + show all updates
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Applications for the 2024 to 2025 academic year are now open. We have updated the page to reflect this. The updates include changes to how we present the lists of eligible courses.
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Updated to clarify that eligible teachers can claim for the 2024 to 2025 academic year from 14 October 2024.
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First published.