Targeted retention incentive payments for FE teachers

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

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.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.

The claim window opens on 14 October. 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 list of eligible further education providers and payment values (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 34.8 KB) is available.

EligibilityWho 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 theseany 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:

• the same as those eligible for the targeted retention incentive for secondary school teachers

• linked to critical skills priorities and currently have the highest unfilled teaching vacancy rates in the statutory FE sector

You must spend at least half of your hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses.

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
Early years	early years practitioner (level 2) apprenticeship
	early years educator (level 3) apprenticeship
	T Level in education and early years (early years educator)
	a course at level 3 and below that leads to an early years qualification which enables providers to count the recipient in staff:child ratios
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 approved 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