Guidance

Initial teacher training bursary funding manual: 2026 to 2027 academic year

Updated 10 December 2025

Applies to England

This guidance sets out the scope and eligibility criteria for bursaries and scholarships for initial teacher training (ITT) for the academic year 2026 to 2027.

Training bursaries and scholarships

Training bursaries

A training bursary is a tax-free financial incentive to attract high quality graduates into the teaching profession. The bursary amount varies according to the subject which they train to teach.

Training bursaries are awarded to trainees based on the classification of their first degree. They are also available to trainees who hold other relevant academic qualifications.

There are also training bursaries for some undergraduates. These are the:

• undergraduate bursary
• undergraduate veteran teaching bursary

Scholarships

We work with professional bodies to provide a limited number of scholarships.

Trainees cannot receive both the scholarship and training bursary. Trainees whose scholarship application is unsuccessful may be eligible for a training bursary.

Bursary rates and eligible subjects

Bursary awards are fixed for the duration of the trainee’s ITT programme. They are not affected by the length of training.

You must not make assumptions about the value or scope of bursary awards in future years based on this document.

The bursary awarded depends on:

• the subject that a trainee trains to teach, not the subject of their degree or academic qualification
• the grade of their highest academic qualification

For example, if a trainee with a first class degree in biology trains to teach physics, they will be eligible for a £29,000 physics bursary. If they train to teach biology, they will be eligible for a £5,000 biology bursary.

Eligible postgraduate ITT subjects

Scholarships and training bursaries are available for the following subjects. This only applies to postgraduate ITT.

Subject	Scholarship	Bursary
Chemistry	£31,000	£29,000
Computing	£31,000	£29,000
Physics	£31,000	£29,000
Mathematics	-	£29,000
Languages (French, German and Spanish only)	£22,000	£20,000
Languages (all other languages, including ancient languages)	-	£20,000
Design and technology (including engineering and food technology)	-	£20,000
Biology	-	£5,000
Geography	-	£5,000

No other ITT courses will attract a bursary, regardless of a trainee’s degree class.

Undergraduate bursaries

A training bursary for final year undergraduates of £9,000 is available for trainees on:

• secondary mathematics and physics courses that lead to QTS
• an opt-in undergraduate secondary mathematics, physics, computing or languages (including ancient languages) course that leads to QTS

The bursary is available to undergraduate trainees who enrol on a QTS course beginning in the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

They get it in the final year of their course.

Trainees who are on an undergraduate course that leads to QTS and a master’s degree will get a £9,000 bursary in both the third and fourth year of their course. They will get a total of £18,000 by the time they complete the course.

Undergraduate veteran teaching bursary

A training bursary worth £40,000 is available for undergraduate veterans who:

• have left full-time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy
• enrol on an eligible ITT course that leads to QTS in an eligible subject, beginning in the 2026 to 2027 academic year

They must have left employment no more than 5 years before the start of their course.

The eligible subjects are:

• biology
• chemistry
• computing
• language (including ancient languages)
• mathematics
• physics

Trainees will get £20,000 in each of the last 2 years of their course, in equal monthly instalments.

You should confirm the actual payment schedule with the trainee.

Trainees cannot get an undergraduate veteran teaching bursary and an undergraduate bursary.

Eligibility

For a trainee to be eligible to receive a bursary, from the first day of training they must meet and continue to meet the following criteria.

A trainee must:

• be eligible to receive UK student support – except for languages and physics trainees
• hold a UK first degree or equivalent, with at least lower second class honours
• be taking a qualifying postgraduate or undergraduate ITT course in England
• have your written notification that they are eligible for the course
• comply with the terms and conditions of the bursary scheme

A trainee is not eligible if they:

• have, or are eligible for, QTS or QTLS
• do paid teaching work which contributes to their training when they get the bursary
• simultaneously do any other ITT course, training scheme or programme that leads to QTS or QTLS

An applicant’s eligibility for a bursary must not change your recruitment process. This includes making judgements about the suitability of an applicant’s degree and other subject knowledge for the subject they will train in.

Eligibility for UK student support

Languages and physics

In languages and physics, trainees starting courses in the 2026 to 2027 academic year do not need to be eligible for student finance to be eligible for a bursary.

This applies to all trainees.

Other subjects and routes

For all other subjects and routes, trainees are only eligible for a training bursary or scholarship if they are entitled to support under the student finance criteria.

To get a bursary, these trainees must meet one or more of the definitions for being an eligible student to receive grants and loans towards tuition fees or living costs, as set out in the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (part 2 – eligible students). Section 3 of Student Finance England’s guidance on assessing eligibility (guidance chapter – assessing eligibility guidance AY 2025 to 2026) has more information.

Student support for EU nationals

European Union (EU) nationals resident in the UK before 1 January 2021, who qualify for pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, are eligible for home fee status and student financial support on a similar basis to domestic students. This is subject to meeting the usual residence requirements.

Contact Student Finance England for further information on those requirements.

Student support for trainees from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey

Trainees from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey may not meet one of the definitions above.

If they are still eligible for support from their respective home education departments, they will still be eligible for a bursary if they meet all other criteria.

Student support for international students

International students can contact the UK Council for International Student Affairs for advice on student support and other issues around studying in the UK.

Holding a UK first degree

You should use the trainee’s highest academic qualification to decide if they are eligible for a bursary.

A trainee may be eligible for a bursary if they hold one of the UK qualifications we have listed.

You should be confident that a trainee’s academic qualification has the same level of breadth and depth that would be expected of a UK first degree with at least second class honours.

This requirement does not apply to undergraduate bursaries.

Taking a qualifying ITT course in England

The trainee must be recruited to a qualifying postgraduate or undergraduate ITT course in England to be eligible to get a bursary.

A qualifying course must:

• lead to a recommendation to us for QTS, when it is completed successfully
• be delivered by an accredited ITT provider

For further information, email becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk.

Courses are not eligible for training bursary or scholarship funding if they lead to:

• a recommendation for the award of QTLS
• only an academic award, such as a postgraduate certificate in education, without QTS

Combination courses

The course content must be 50% or more of the bursary subject awarded.

For example:

• a course with content of 50% or more in mathematics and the remainder in physical education (PE) would receive the mathematics bursary
• a course with content of more than 50% PE would not be eligible for a bursary, as there is no bursary award for this subject

Courses with equal content of 2 subjects will be awarded the bursary for the subject which attracts the higher bursary rate.

For example:

• a course with content of 50% physics and 50% biology would be awarded the higher physics bursary
• a course with content of 50% languages and 50% history would be awarded a languages bursary, even though there is no bursary award for history

Having written notification of eligibility

You must determine if a trainee is eligible to get a bursary and tell them in writing if they are.

You should do this in good time before the start of the course and payment schedule.

Trainees are only eligible for a bursary when their ITT provider confirms this in writing. We cannot provide written confirmation to trainees.

You may use the bursary to offset a candidate’s tuition fees, either partly or in full, if you have their permission.

Using notification of bursary eligibility in a visa application

Trainees who need to apply for a student visa can use notification that they are eligible to get a bursary as evidence they have funds to support themselves for their visa application.

You should make sure trainees know they will need to have sufficient funds to support themselves when they first start their course until the first bursary payment is made.

You should confirm that the trainee will get official financial sponsorship when completing their Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.

Make sure your written confirmation to these trainees includes the evidence they need to provide for their visa application.

Having, or being eligible for, QTS or QTLS

QTS

Trainees are not eligible for a bursary if, on the first day of their ITT course, they either:

• hold QTS
• are eligible to apply for QTS

QTS is a legal requirement to teach in some English schools. It is considered desirable for teachers in most schools in England.

There are different routes depending on an applicant’s prior experience and qualifications.

Applicants can use our online eligibility checker to check their eligibility to apply for QTS through the recognition service. If the checker suggests they are eligible to apply for QTS, advise them to apply for QTS through the recognition service.

If an applicant does not believe they are eligible for QTS through the service, they must satisfy the provider that they do not meet at least one of the eligibility criteria listed, before a grant assessment can be continued.

Some teachers who are trained and recognised overseas may be able to apply for QTS without further assessment or training.

Email professional.recognition@education.gov.uk with any other queries.

Separate continuing professional development may be appropriate for those who already hold QTS.

QTLS

Qualified teachers who are included on the Teaching Regulation Agency’s teaching record system are ineligible to get bursaries or student finance.

This applies to trainees who both:

• hold QTLS status
• are members of the Society for Education and Training (SET)

They must maintain their SET membership for this to continue. You can check their status on SET’s professional status register.

Early years teacher status

Individuals who hold early years teacher status can still apply for an ITT place and get a bursary, if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Doing paid teaching work

Trainees who get bursary payments must not get a salary or other payment for any type of teaching work which contributes to their training while doing their ITT course. 

Trainees can get both a salary and a bursary if their employment is neither:

• related to the ITT course
• used as part of their assessment – for example, against the teachers’ standards

Trainees are deemed to be employed as a teacher if they are employed under a contract of employment or services with one or more local authority, governing body or institution to:

• be the headteacher or principal of one or more schools or institutions
• carry out one or more of a range of specified activities at one or more schools or institutions

This definition of a teacher can include people employed by a local authority to teach as a supply teacher in schools maintained by that authority. It does not include people employed by private teacher supply agencies or private tutors.

The definition of a teacher includes unqualified teachers who meet one or more of the descriptions set out in paragraphs 2 and 4 to 9 of schedule 2 in the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012.

Under this definition, teachers are permitted to carry out ‘specified activity’, including:

• delivering lessons
• assessing the development, progress and attainment of pupils

You should refer to these regulations for the full definition of ‘specified activity’.

Doing other training leading to QTS

To be eligible for a training bursary, trainees must not simultaneously do any other:

• ITT course
• training schemes or programmes leading to QTS

The role of admissions staff

You must make sure that those responsible for making decisions on bursary eligibility are familiar with, or have access to guidance on, the range of qualifications generally regarded as equivalent to a first degree in the UK. These may include:

• overseas qualifications
• professional or vocational qualifications
• qualifications no longer available but held by mature applicants

You should be aware of the range of degrees awarded by UK institutions.

You are responsible for deciding if an individual’s highest relevant academic qualification meets the bursary eligibility criteria in all cases. This includes determining whether a particular qualification shows the breadth and type of academic engagement that would be expected from:

• a bachelor’s degree with honours
• a master’s degree
• a doctoral degree

You must keep an audit trail of how you assess equivalency. When you assess equivalency, you can:

• consult internal colleagues, such as those in the relevant subject department
• consult external organisations, such as the awarding body of the equivalent qualification
• conduct a review of the course content or transcripts of the other qualification

We may request this information for assurance purposes, and to ensure your processes are robust.

Where providers lack the institutional experience to assess the validity of academic qualifications, you should refer to the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.

Teaching outside England after trainees get QTS

You should seek assurances from trainees who get bursaries that they intend to seek a teaching post in England when they successfully complete their course.

We will collect data on trainees who are not domiciled in England and are accessing bursaries.

We may ask for more information from providers with high levels of trainees who are domiciled outside England.

Trainee requirements

We expect that trainees who accept a place with you and are eligible to receive a bursary will:

• sign a declaration of understanding with you that they expect to seek a teaching post in England when they successfully complete their course
• tell you of any changes in their bank account details and address
• promptly tell you if they intend to withdraw from the course

You should also make it clear how you intend to pay the trainee.

Scholarship eligibility

The relevant professional body will assess the applicant’s eligibility and tell them if they have been recommended for the scholarship.

You remain responsible for selecting trainees for courses regardless of their recommendation for a scholarship.

Trainees must meet all the eligibility criteria to get the scholarship funding. Recommendation for a scholarship does not override or take priority over the criteria.

The applicant must secure an ITT place on a tuition fee-based course in one of:

• chemistry
• computing
• physics
• French
• German
• Spanish

An applicant will lose their scholarship entitlement if they cannot secure a place on an eligible course by 1 September 2026.

Applicants do not need to secure an eligible ITT place before applying for a scholarship.

The professional bodies should use their discretion when they consider degree classification and subject knowledge. There are further details on the websites of:

• Royal Society of Chemistry, for chemistry
• BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, for computing
• Institute of Physics, for physics
• British Council, for French, German and Spanish

Identifying trainees

Trainees are responsible for telling you that they have been recommended for a scholarship, and providing evidence.

You must make sure each trainee who gets a scholarship is identified appropriately in the register trainee teachers service (Register).

Training bursary and scholarship payments

You are responsible for the management and administration of bursary payments, including:

• assessing the trainee’s eligibility
• awarding the bursary to the trainee – this does not apply to scholarships
• drawing up terms and conditions relating to receipt of the bursary

If a trainee is found to be ineligible for the bursary, we will recover any bursary payments made to you. The recovery of any bursary overpayments will be an internal matter between you and the trainee.

If you pay the Student Loans Company to administer the bursary, you remain responsible and accountable for the management of this funding.

We use the standard training bursary funding process to make scholarship payments.

Tax and benefits

These payments are not taxable.

They may be treated as capital income when trainees who get state benefits have their income assessed, as student maintenance loans are.

Trainees can use gov.uk to check their eligibility for state benefits.

When trainees are eligible to get payments

Trainees will be entitled to receive the first bursary payment if they are actively engaged in the ITT programme on the first day of the month after their start date.

For example, a trainee starting their course in September 2026 will be entitled to:

• their first payment if they are actively engaged in the programme on 1 October 2026
• their second payment if they are on the programme on 1 November 2026

This is regardless of the provider’s individual payment date.

These principles also apply to trainees who start their postgraduate or undergraduate courses later in the academic year. For example, if a trainee starts their course in January 2027, they will be entitled to their first payment if they are actively engaged in the programme on 1 February 2027.

If a trainee completes their course before the end of the academic year, they may get the full balance of the bursary in the month that they complete the course.

Do not pay bursary funding:

• as part of maternity or paternity pay arrangements
• during a period of unauthorised absence

You must maintain an audit trail of all payments made to trainees and any decisions about payment structures. We may ask for this information at any time for assurance purposes.

Payments for full-time courses

You should pay bursary or scholarship awards in 10 equal monthly instalments over the duration of the course.

Bursary award	Value of monthly instalments (for a 10-month payment structure)
£5,000	£500
£20,000	£2,000
£22,000	£2,200
£29,000	£2,900
£31,000	£3,100

Payments for part-time or modular courses

Trainees on part-time or modular courses may agree a flexible monthly payment plan, which covers the duration of the programme.

You must make sure the bursary payments reflect the proportion of the course that the trainee has completed at any point.

You may award the bursary beyond the 2026 to 2027 academic year, because part-time courses will span more than one academic year.

Any bursary payments made after 31 July of the academic year will be included as expenditure for the following academic year, 2027 to 2028.

Withdrawals, deferrals and sickness

Tell us immediately if any trainee accepted for a bursary:

• withdraws from their ITT course
• defers their study for any period

You must:

• suspend all bursary payments to the trainee immediately
• make sure their records are updated in Register, including the formal withdrawal date

A withdrawal is when a trainee who has started a course informs their provider they no longer wish to continue.

A deferral is when a trainee who has started a course agrees with you to pause temporarily, and confirms they intend to return.

Eligible trainees who withdraw or defer from a course will be entitled to payment for each month up to and including the month in which they formally withdraw.

For example, if a trainee starts their programme in September 2026 and withdraws or defers in January 2027, they will be entitled to 4 payments in total. This is because they were engaged in the course on:

• 1 October 2026
• 1 November 2026
• 1 December 2026
• 1 January 2027

Withdrawal or deferral information should reflect the dates given to Student Finance England for student support purposes.

We will recover any overpayments made to you after the trainee has withdrawn or deferred. We will not reimburse you for any payments made to trainees in error. The recovery of any bursary overpayments will then be an internal matter between you and the trainee.

Returning trainees

Trainees will only be eligible to get the remaining bursary award up to the value which was available in the year that they started their original course if they:

• defer and then rejoin their original course
• take any advanced standing or credit to a new ITT course

You can agree a bespoke payment schedule with the trainee for the remaining amount.

If the course takes longer:

• you can amend the bursary instalments to reflect this
• you cannot increase the total bursary amount, which is fixed

To add bursary funding to your payment profile to accommodate trainees who restart in the 2026 to 2027 academic year, you must contact the ITT funding team with the relevant trainee and funding details upon their return.

A trainee will be entitled to a new bursary, subject to the eligibility criteria and rates we have set out, if they both:

• leave one ITT course and join a new one, with no transfer of standing or credit from their previous course
• are being charged a new tuition fee

We treat this as a new route to QTS.

If the trainee has received their full bursary entitlement during a previous ITT programme, this may impact their eligibility to get bursary funding while they complete a new programme in the 2026 to 2027 academic year. Email the funding team at ITT.Funding@education.gov.uk for more guidance.

Absence for sickness

If a trainee is absent through sickness, you may only make one further payment following the first day of absence. After this, the absence should be treated as a period of deferral and payments must stop with immediate effect.

For example, a trainee’s first day of sickness absence is 15 November 2026. The provider:

• may make one further payment as the trainee is still considered active on 1 December 2026
• must not make further payments beyond this until the trainee returns to the course

If the trainee then returns on 15 February 2027, they will next be entitled to a bursary payment if they are still active on 1 March 2027. The next payment must not include the payments that the trainee missed by being absent on 1 January and 1 February.

Monitoring and assurance responsibilities

We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds and assets generated from applicable ITT places are properly managed, in line with the grant funding agreements (GFAs) you hold.

You must show that you have administered all bursary funding in accordance with your GFA. This includes:

• selecting and recruiting the highest quality candidates to programmes of ITT
• designing and delivering high quality programmes of ITT
• rigorously assessing trainees against all the relevant standards for QTS, and only supporting the recommendation of those trainees that have been deemed to have met them
• demonstrating propriety and adequate controls in your financial management and compliance with relevant financial reporting or governance requirements
• complying with our data requirements and requests, as stipulated in all our guidance
• passing on 100% of the bursary funding issued to you under your grant funding agreement to the trainee

Failure to fully comply with monitoring and assurance requirements may result in non-compliance, which could lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation.

Records you must keep

You must hold full records for all trainees in receipt of bursaries.

This includes evidence of trainees’ academic qualifications achieved before they start their ITT course.

You should keep records for a minimum of 3 years after each cohort has finished their course.

Trainees must hold the highest eligible qualification on which their assessment was based prior to starting the course. We may request this evidence from you at any point during the academic year, for the purpose of quality monitoring and funding assurance. This may include copies of original documentation provided by trainees, including qualification certificates.

We also expect to see:

• evidence of payments you have made to trainees
• evidence that trainees have attended 120 days’ training
• confirmation of any dates you have made reference to

Trainee records in Register

You must make sure all trainee records in Register are complete. This includes amending the records of trainees who:

• withdraw or defer from their ITT programme
• start later in the 2026 to 2027 academic year
• return from earlier academic years

We may delay or withhold payments if data is inaccurate or incomplete.

Assurance of bursary payments

We will use annual and interim census data collections and the Annex G process to seek rigorous assurance of all bursary payments. Your accounting officer must verify these data sets.

We will send you details of the Annex G process after the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

Funding checks

We will review the allocated bursary funding that you receive and reconcile this amount with the trainee records submitted at each census point.

We will adjust your funding at these points to meet the actual amount required. If you have received more funding than required, we will recover the excess by invoicing you or offsetting this amount against any future payments.

We will carry out a reconciliation exercise between the bursaries allocated and the actual trainee records as confirmed in Register. If there are any variances, we may:

• ask you to explain them
• seek further information

We will not reimburse you for any bursaries paid to ineligible trainees.

Annex G

We will ask you to complete an Annex G, in accordance with published guidance, with income, expenditure and trainee data.

This has to be independently audited and countersigned by the accounting officer. The assurance and audit process cycle has more guidance.

We will use this information to reconcile the funding that you have received with your declared expenditure, taking into account the effect of withdrawn and deferred trainees.

Before the Annex G, we will ask for an interim return to provide an indicative bursary expenditure figure. This allows us to monitor expenditure in year.

We will write to you about the interim indicative return and issue more detailed guidance about the Annex G at the end of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, so you can comply with your GFA requirements.

Data requirements and reporting

You must submit relevant data to us, including:

• the data required to complete the ITT census return in October 2026
• applications
• recruitment and employment outcomes

Failure to comply with requests for data may result in non-compliance, which could lead to the withdrawal of your accreditation.

If lead partners are responsible for collecting any data, you must make sure  your partnership agreement confirms the arrangements for sharing this data so it can be submitted to us.

You are required to submit trainee-level data.

Full details of how to submit trainee level data are available in Register.

If you have any queries about the submission of trainee-level data, email becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk.

Assessing UK academic qualifications

List of eligible academic qualifications

You can work out if a trainee may be eligible for a bursary based on their highest academic qualification. This could be:

• a first class, 2.1 or 2.2 undergraduate honours degree
• a master’s degree
• a doctoral degree, not including honorary doctorates
• a medical master’s degree (distinction)
• an aegrotat (unclassified) honours degree

There is no bursary available for awards below a 2.2 undergraduate degree.

Trainees are not eligible for a bursary if:

• they have an ordinary degree, aegrotat ordinary degree, postgraduate certificate (PGCert) or diploma (PGDip) only
• their highest academic qualification is a third class honours degree
• they do not hold a degree

The master of arts status conferred on application by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford does not result in its holders being eligible for a bursary.

If a trainee is ineligible for a bursary award but feels there are extenuating circumstances which impacted their final result, this must be raised with the awarding body of the qualification. ITT providers must not apply any discretion in these cases.

If the outcome of a qualification is not yet known, you must determine bursary eligibility by the highest relevant academic award on the date the training course started.

If the trainee is subsequently awarded a higher qualification, you may reassess their bursary eligibility if the award of this qualification was made on or before the date the course started. Email ITT.funding@education.gov.uk for more guidance in these circumstances.

Honours bachelor’s degrees

The Higher Education Credit Framework for England (HECF) states that someone who holds a bachelor’s degree with honours will have developed an understanding of a complex body of knowledge, some of it at the current boundaries of an academic discipline.

They will also be able to evaluate evidence, arguments and assumptions to reach sound judgements, and communicate them effectively.

Honours degree holders have usually:

• completed an independent dissertation or thesis relating to the subject they are specialising in
• had considerably fewer contact hours than an ordinary degree

The length of study for a full-time bachelor’s degree with honours is usually 3 years. Part-time courses are usually longer. Honours degrees require 360 credits for completion.

Ordinary bachelor’s degrees

Ordinary bachelor’s degrees are largely a taught degree programme with less specialisation or independent study involved. The outcome can sometimes be a licence to train in a particular subject, such as accounting.

A trainee may sometimes be transferred from an honours programme onto an ordinary degree programme if they have not achieved the required grades throughout the programme to graduate with honours.

Open degrees from the Open University awarded without honours would fall into this category. They would not be eligible for bursaries in their own right. Trainees may be able to study a further 60 credit module to convert these degrees to honours, but this may not necessarily uplift their final classification to the level necessary for bursary eligibility. Trainees in this position can contact the Open University for advice.

Medical first degrees

First degrees in medicine are qualifying awards in professional terms. They are not classified. They are usually titled ‘bachelor’, but they are at level 7 (master’s level) on the HECF. This only applies to degrees that are 5 years in length.

You may consider these as equivalent to a 2.2 honours degree or above:

• 5-year degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and surgery
• medical bachelor’s degrees, often called bachelor of medical science (BMedSci)

Medical bachelor’s degrees may be awarded as exit awards to students who:

• satisfy the criteria specified for the award of a bachelor’s degree
• fail to meet the criteria for progression to the fourth or fifth year of the qualifying medical degree

Some award titles may be used in both categories of award. Check individual cases with the relevant awarding bodies before deciding whether to award a bursary.

Professional and vocational qualifications

You need to make sure those responsible for decisions on entry understand, or have access to, advice on the range of professional and vocational qualifications generally regarded as equivalent to a first class, 2.1 or 2.2 undergraduate honours degree or above.  

It is your responsibility to decide if a candidate’s qualification:

• meets this criterion
• shows the breadth and type of academic engagement that would be expected from first degree study

Partnerships that do not include degree-awarding bodies may wish to seek advice from those that do.

Assessing overseas qualifications

Overseas degree equivalency

When you select trainees with overseas degrees, you should make sure their qualification complies with the ITT criteria.

Do not award a bursary unless you:

• consider, in your own assessment, that a candidate’s degree should be equivalent to at least a second class honours degree
• can give evidence which supports your assessment

A statement of comparability, from European National Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK ENIC), can confirm if it is comparable to a British bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree.

You cannot use the statement of comparability to establish the classification of the trainee’s degree. You must make a professional assessment to determine eligibility.

Candidates can get support from the Get into Teaching service. This includes an initial verbal check to advise candidates on what their qualifications are equivalent to, prior to applying to ITT. This is for guidance only. You must make the final decision on eligibility before the start of their ITT.

You can award a bursary if all of these apply:

• the trainee’s first degree can be compared to either a British bachelor’s degree or a British bachelor’s degree with honours
• there is no grading of the degree available
• you are satisfied the degree is of the same depth and breadth that the bursary award would show

You must base decisions on eligibility only on the content of the qualification itself. You must not include any unrelated additional qualifications or experience.

We may request these details from you at any point during the academic year, to monitor the robustness of your processes.

This may include:

• copies of original documentation provided by trainees, including qualification certificates
• correspondence related to the decision-making process – for example, advice from internal colleagues or external organisations such as awarding bodies

Equivalent grading

Many overseas qualifications sit either above or below British bachelor’s or British bachelor’s degree with honours.

You can ask for a statement of comparability from UK ENIC to verify the actual degree itself before making any judgement about bursary eligibility.

If an overseas qualification is not equivalent to at least a second class honours degree, it will be considered equivalent to an ordinary or third class degree.

You should not award a bursary unless you:

• consider, in your own assessment, that the degree should be equivalent to at least a second class honours degree
• can provide evidence which supports your assessment

Equivalent master’s and doctoral degrees

You can assess trainees who hold overseas master’s and doctoral degrees for eligibility. You should get a statement of comparability from UK ENIC, if necessary.

If a trainee’s degree is comparable to a British master’s or doctorate level:

• treat these degrees as equivalent
• award the appropriate bursary for eligible ITT subjects

You should use your professional judgement to determine any bursary awards for overseas master’s or doctoral degrees which are not equivalent to a UK master’s or doctoral degree.

Trainees who hold overseas bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees that all sit below British bachelor’s honours degree standard may be awarded a bursary in exceptional cases, if you can:

• make a strong case for bursary eligibility
• back this up with a full audit trail

Bursary funding cycle

These are the most important dates in the bursary funding cycle.

June to July 2026

In your first year of delivery, we ask you to submit your GFA to us.

If we need other documents, such as letters of variation, we will contact individual ITT providers separately.

August 2026

Apply acceptance data is incorporated into the bursary model.

This allows us to make interim payments to you from September to November 2026. 

September to November 2026

We make payments on or around the third working day of each month.

We make the first 3 payments if you have a GFA in place. This will be based on your Apply acceptance data.

Payment profiles are available in Register during this period.

November 2026

Your Register data is incorporated into the bursary model, to confirm payments from December 2026.

This is based on the trainee registration returns submitted through Register, on or before the census closure date.

December 2026 to January 2027

We make payments, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Bursary summaries and payment profiles are available in Register.

February to April 2027

Your data in Register will be updated in the bursary model in February 2027, to include any changes you have submitted through Register in January 2027.

We make payments, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Bursary summaries and payment profiles are available in Register.

May to July 2027

Your data in Register will be updated in the bursary model in May 2027 to include any changes that you have submitted through Register, up to April 2027.

We make payments, if you have a GFA in place, based on your data in Register.

Bursary summaries and payment profiles are available in Register.

Assurance and audit process cycle

These are the most important events in the assurance and audit process.

June to July 2027

We send indicative Annex G documents to you in July 2027.

You must return these by 31 July 2027.

September to December 2027

We send final Annex G documents to you at the end of the academic year.

We pre-populate this with the amount of funding you have received, and the trainees the funding relates to.

The completed documents and auditor’s report (if applicable) will help to provide us with the necessary assurance for the amount received and the purpose it was used for.

We send you more guidance on this process at the same time.

You must return these by 31 December 2027.

January to March 2028

We apply a sampling process to gain assurance of the bursary expenditure. This is in addition to the audited documents and auditor’s report, if applicable.

The sampling process involves assurance checks through the collection of evidence on sampled trainees, including:

• trainee ID
• withdrawals
• course information
• degree class
• payment information

We complete recoveries and reimbursements through the payment profile or invoice.

Contacts

Email ITT.Funding@education.gov.uk for queries from ITT providers about:

• funding and payments
• grant funding agreements

Email becomingateacher@digital.education.gov.uk for queries about:

• permission to recruit
• Register
• October census queries
• any other data matters

For ITT criteria, email ITT.Accreditation@education.gov.uk.

For visa queries, email teach.inengland@service.education.gov.uk.

For all other enquiries, contact DfE.