Targeted retention incentive payments for FE teachers
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-25)

Eligible further education (FE) teachers can apply for the second round of targeted retention incentive payments from 2 March 2026 until 31 May 2026.

About this scheme

Eligible further education (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 (#eligible-fe-courses) to see if you can claim a payment.

You must be in the first 5 years of your FE teaching career to claim. This means you must have started your first role with the responsibilities of an FE teacher at a post-16 only education (FE) provider in England during or after the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

If you started your FE teaching career in England during the 2020 to 2021 academic year or before, you are not eligible to claim.

Eligibility criteria are subject to change.

When to apply

The academic year runs from 1 September until 31 August. For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, applications will open on 2 March 2026.

You must claim by 31 May 2026.

You cannot backdate a claim. You can only claim for the current academic year during an application window.

Your claim will be verified by your employer and DfE from the start of the summer term on 13 April 2026. Eligibility is assessed at the point your employer reviews your claim.

Who is eligible

You can apply for a payment if you:
- are a member of staff with the responsibility of an FE teacher in England
- are directly employed by an eligible FE provider (#Eligible-FE-providers)
- started your first role with the responsibilities of an FE teacher at a post-16 only education (FE) provider in England during or after the 2021 to 2022 academic year
- spend at least half of your timetabled hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses at level 3 or below
- are timetabled to teach more than 2 and a half hours a week
- spend at least half of your timetabled hours, on average, teaching students funded through the 16 to 19 education funding system or apprentices aged 16 to 19
- are not subject to any formal performance measures as a result of continuous poor teaching standards
- are not subject to any disciplinary action
- are on a permanent contract
- are on a fixed term contract covering the 2025 to 2026 academic year
- are on a variable-hours contract or a short-term fixed contract, and have worked at least the whole spring academic term before applying
- expect to continue to be employed by an eligible FE provider until the end of the academic year
Timetabled teaching hours refer to the time you spend independently teaching lessons to students of all ages.

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’re applying for a targeted retention incentive for the first time, or if you’re reapplying and have a valid reason for not having enrolled or obtained a teaching qualification since your previous application)
You still need to meet the above teaching qualification criteria if you only hold an assessor qualification.

We also expect you to have developed, enhanced and maintained your teaching competences and practices, or have plans to do so.

Breaks in teaching

You’re still eligible if you have some statutory 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 are not eligible

You are not eligible to claim if you:
- are not expecting to continue to be employed by an eligible FE provider until the end of the academic year
- are non-teaching support staff, a non-teaching assessor or a non-teaching leader
- are employed through a subsidiary, by an agency, or if you are subcontracting with an eligible FE provider
- started a role with the responsibilities of an FE teacher in England at any post-16 education provider during or before the 2020 to 2021 academic year
- have already claimed a targeted retention incentive payment for the 2025 to 2026 academic year
- are receiving an FE initial teacher education bursary for 2025 to 2026 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fe-funding-initial-teacher-education-bursary-2025-to-2026)
Eligible FE providers

An eligible FE provider in England must directly employ you as a member of staff who holds the responsibilities of a teacher. Eligible providers are:

statutory FE providers (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/13/section/91) including:
- FE colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- designated institutions
16 to 19 only academies and schools

If you teach at an FE provider with a higher proportion of disadvantaged students, you’ll receive a higher payment. This is based on the proportion of 16 to 19 students who attract disadvantage funding (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-how-it-works).

A list of eligible further education providers and payment values (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68ca75062fe4b313286c9fa4/Eligible_further_education_providers_and_payment_values.xlsx) (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 34.5 KB) is available.

Eligible FE courses

You must spend at least half of your timetabled hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses. This includes qualifications approved for DfE funding, T Levels or apprenticeships.

A qualification must be approved for funding under at least one of the DfE funding offers to be eligible. It must also be specifically named or approved for DfE funding at level 3 or below within one of the seven eligible sector subject areas. All maths qualifications that meet the condition of funding (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-funding-maths-and-english-condition-of-funding/2025-to-2026-academic-year-16-to-19-funding-maths-and-english-condition-of-funding) are also eligible.

Only selected early years courses (#early-years) are eligible. We have listed these separately.

Speak to your employer if you’re unsure if your teaching fits one of these categories.

Eligible early years courses

The following early years apprenticeships and T Levels are eligible.

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 to child ratios – we have taken all entries from the early years qualifications list (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualifications-achieved-in-england)
Knowledge only pathways for any of the early years qualifications listed are not eligible.

Payments

For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the targeted retention incentive payment ranges from £2,000 to £6,000, depending on:
- the provider you are employed by (#Eligible-FE-providers)
- the number of hours you are timetabled to teach in the spring academic term
We make the payment in one lump sum.

Timetabled teaching hours refers to the time you spend independently teaching lessons to students of all ages. It is not your total working hours or contact time.

Check with your employer if you’re unsure about the hours you teach.

Taxable income and National Insurance

We’ll pay National Insurance and basic rate Income Tax (https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-rates#income-tax-rates-and-bands) 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 xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).