Bonus Payments Boost for Teachers
In a boost to encourage nursey school teachers to obtain degree level qualifications the government announced they will pay bonuses of £4,500 to any qualified teacher taking up a position in England’s most ‘deprived communities’, in a bid to provide expert support in the development of children in the early stages.
Government educational statistics show that fewer than one in ten nursery school teachers are qualified to degree level and believes that addressing this could have far reaching positive benefits for children during their early informative years.
These measures are part of an ongoing pledge to ‘give every child the best start in life’. To achieve this the government is offering financial incentives to attract and keep early years teachers in nurseries serving the most disadvantaged communities to ensure every child, no matter where they live, can benefit from high-quality early education.
The government’s commitment will include significantly increasing the number of funded training places on Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) courses over 3 years, aiming to more than double the number of places by 2028. This will also include rolling out a new degree apprenticeship route to enable more people to become early years teachers, with financial support for employers to help deliver this.
Access to the scheme was launched on the 11 June, the first batch targeted 10 areas – including Sandwell, Middlesbrough and Rochdale – with expansion to 30 communities later this year. Areas were selected based on deprivation, teacher shortages and school readiness levels.
Eligible employers can apply for financial support under the Early Years teacher degree apprenticeship (EYTDA) apprentices in their setting. The finds will be distributed to employers by the registered training provider.
To receive the employer support grant, employers must:
- employ at least one EYTDA apprentice in their Ofsted-inspected setting
- agree to and keep accurate records of their apprentice’s qualification and progress towards the EYTDA.
Employers can use the grant for:
- supply cover while the trainee is attending EYTDA training
- employment costs incurred by the employer in connection with the employment of an EYTDA apprentice
- additional training costs and other overheads related to the employment of the apprentice
Providers will also need to keep adequate records to support the training provided, the eligibility criteria of the employer which requires an ongoing assessment to ensure entitlement to the funds are maintained together with documentation and monitoring of any expenditure against the grant. Documents will need to be made available to the Department for Education (DfE), when requested.
For academic year 2026 to 2027, eligible employers will be able to access a grant worth £8,236 per apprentice. The DfE will publish updated funding guidance for future academic years in summer 2026.
Payments will be split into monthly payments to the training provider, who will then allocate to the employer, throughout the first year of the course, with no payment in August.
The employer support grant is paid directly to the apprentice’s training provider, who will distribute among eligible employers. The grant is a contribution towards costs that employers incur as a result of employing an apprentice and must not be used for other purposes.