Levelling up premium payments for FE teachers
Eligible further education (FE) teachers can apply for the first round of levelling up premium payments from autumn 2024 until spring 2025.
Applies to England
Eligible FE teachers can claim a levelling up premium 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
For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, applications will open in autumn 2024.
You must claim by 31 March 2025.
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. If you were employed as a teacher in FE in the 2019 to 2020 academic year or before, you’re not eligible to claim.
The claim window opens each autumn. Use the table to find out when you can apply for a levelling up premium 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.
What you’ll get
For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, the levelling up premium 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. We’ll publish a list of eligible FE providers and the matching value of payment by summer 2024.
We expect eligible teachers at most general FE colleges will be eligible for the top payment of £6,000 if they teach at least 12 hours a week.
Eligibility
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
- spend at least half of your hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses at level 3 or below
- are contracted to teach more than 2.5 hours a week
- spend at least half of your hours teaching 16- to 19-year-olds (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 working towards a teaching qualification
- will start working towards a teaching qualification within 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 free schools
Eligible roles
You must be employed as a member of staff with teaching responsibilities, in a role such as:
- advanced practitioner
- practitioner
- instructor
- lecturer
- teacher
- trainer
- tutor
If you’re a supply teacher, you can only apply if you:
- are employed directly by an eligible provider
- have been working for the provider for at least one term before applying
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
You should apply for payments as usual during these breaks 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 or before the 2019 to 2020 academic year
- have already claimed a levelling up premium 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:
-
eligible for secondary school teachers
-
linked to critical skills priorities and currently have the highest unfilled vacancy rates in the statutory FE sector
Speak to your employer if you’re unsure whether your teaching fits one of these categories.
You must spend at least half of your hours, on average, teaching eligible FE courses.
| Subject | Course |
|---|---|
| Building and construction | ESFA-funded qualifications 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 | |
| International Baccalaureate middle years programme or certificate in chemistry | |
| Computing | ESFA-funded qualifications at level 3 and below in the ICT practitioners sector subject area |
| ESFA-funded qualifications at level 3 and below in the ICT 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 | |
| International Baccalaureate certificate in computer science | |
| 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 | ESFA-funded qualifications at level 3 and below in the engineering sector subject area |
| ESFA-funded qualifications at level 3 and below in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area | |
| ESFA-funded qualifications 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 | ESFA-funded qualifications 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 | |
| International Baccalaureate middle years programme or certificate in physics |
Payments
We make the payment in one lump sum each year.
If you’re employed on a permanent contract and contracted to teach:
- 12 hours or more a week, you’re eligible for £4,000 to £6,000
- fewer than 12 hours but more than 2.5 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 contract, you must have:
- worked for one term before applying
- an ongoing commitment from your employer for future hours
If your teaching hours over the current and preceding term have equated to:
- 12 hours or more a week, you’re eligible for £4,000 to £6,000
- fewer than 12 hours but more than 2.5 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 any queries about levelling up premium payments, email FE-Levellingup.PremiumPayments@education.gov.uk.