Teacher Retention Payments

Overview

You may have seen information from the Department for Education about a pilot scheme to give eligible maths and physics teachers in England a £2,000 retention payment in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years. This scheme gives eligible teachers in the first 5 years of their career a £2,000 payment after tax.

It should be noted that this scheme is different to the recruitment and retention pay award which is included in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). We have written another article which outlines details on the recruitment and retention pay award.

In this article, we outline the eligibility criteria and how to register for interest.

Eligibility criteria

The GOV.UK website explains that to be eligible for payment, teachers must meet the full criteria during the application window and in each payment year.

Teachers must be employed in a local authority in the North East or Yorkshire and Humber. The full list of eligible local authorities can be found on GOV.UK.

Qualifications criteria

To be eligible, teachers must have completed at least one:

• UK undergraduate or postgraduate mathematics-related degree – G1 to G9 on the JACS 3.0 principal subject codes
• UK undergraduate or postgraduate physics-related degree – F3 on the JACS 3.0 principal subject codes
• Equivalent non-UK degree
• Initial teacher training (ITT) course specialising in maths or physics

Teacher status: QTS and QTLS

To be eligible for the payment, teachers must have either qualified teacher status (QTS) or qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS) status.

QTS

Teachers with QTS must have been awarded this in the years specified below:

The academic year runs from 1 September to 31 August of each year.

QTLS

Teachers with QTLS must

• be a member of the Society for Education and Training (SET)
• have completed an initial teacher training (ITT) course in the years specified in the table below

The academic year runs from 1 September to 31 August of each year.

Subject eligibility criteria

You must be employed to teach maths or physics to be eligible for the payment. Teachers who are employed to teach maths or physics as part of the broader curriculum will also be eligible. 

Employment eligibility criteria

Teachers must be employed in a state-funded secondary, including middle-deemed secondary schools, in England, in either a:

• Local-authority maintained school
• Academy or free school
• Local-authority maintained or non-maintained special school

Employment basis

Part-time and full time contracts

Teachers can be employed on either a part-time or full-time basis. Part-time teachers will get the same payment amount as full-time teachers.

Supply teachers

Supply teachers may also be eligible as long as they are:

• Not employed by private agencies
• Have a contract for at least one term

Teachers on leave

Teachers will also be eligible if they are on:

• Annual leave
• Sickness leave
• Maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Adoption leave
• Military service, for example, as a reservist

Performance eligibility criteria

Teachers must not be subject to:

• Formal capability proceedings
• Disciplinary action

Teachers can still be eligible if they are no longer subject to formal capability proceedings or disciplinary action on 28 February of the same academic year.

Payment

Number of payments

Teachers will only get one payment for each academic year. For example, they will not get separate payments if they have more than one contract.

Salary and pensions

Teacher payments are not part of their salary or pensionable pay.

Income tax

You or you employing school do not need to pay income tax on any payment relating to this scheme.

National Insurance

You or your employing school do not need to pay National Insurance on any payment relating to this scheme.

Registering for interest

You can use the form below to register your interest and receive updates from the Department for Education.

Register your interest as a teacher