Funding: initial teacher training (ITT), academic year 2026 to 2027
Updated 7 October 2025
Applies to England
Overview
The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for managing grant funding associated with school initial teacher training (ITT) courses.
This guidance refers to聽ITT聽funding for the 2026 to 2027 academic year.
For the previous academic year, read聽Funding: initial teacher training (ITT), academic year 2025 to 2026.
Postgraduate bursaries and scholarships
Bursaries and scholarships are available to trainees on tuition-fee-based teacher training courses in England that lead to the award of聽qualified teacher status (QTS).
Receiving a bursary or scholarship depends on the trainee鈥檚:
- highest relevant academic award
- ITT听蝉耻产箩别肠迟
In languages and physics, trainees starting courses in the 2026 to 2027 academic year will not need to be eligible for student finance to be eligible for a bursary or scholarship.
In all other subjects, trainees are only eligible for a bursary or scholarship if they are entitled to support under the聽student finance criteria.
Non-UK trainees should read聽. Applicants with a degree from outside the UK should use聽.
For 2026 to 2027, we鈥檙e offering bursaries of:
- 拢29,000 in chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics
- 拢20,000 in design and technology and languages (including ancient languages)
- 拢5,000 in biology and geography
Applicants may be eligible for a bursary if they have a 1st, 2:1, 2:2 or master鈥檚 degree or a PhD.
We鈥檙e offering scholarships of:
- 拢31,000 for chemistry, computing and physics
- 拢22,000 for French, German and Spanish (no other languages)
Scholarships are usually available to applicants with a 1st, 2:1 or master鈥檚 degree or a PhD, though, in exceptional circumstances, they may be awarded to a graduate with a 2:2 and significant relevant experience.
Scholarships also come with a package of additional benefits from the relevant scholarship body:
- a tax-free scholarship
- membership to the professional body
- subject-specialist events and webinars held by professional bodies
- online and face-to-face workshops across the country
- subject-specialist mentors and coaching
- a community of scholars (ex-scholars, teachers, subject leaders)
- access to classroom resources
- continuing professional development (CPD) and networking events during the聽ITT聽year and as alumni
Scholarships are applied for separately to聽ITT聽and only awarded to high-calibre students who pass a robust application and interview process in one of the specialist subject areas. Scholarships are awarded instead of a bursary.
Scholarship applicants should apply to the relevant scholarship body. Details are available on the聽 page.
Further guidance on postgraduate bursaries and scholarships is available in the聽initial teacher training (ITT) bursary: funding manual.
Undergraduate bursary
Undergraduates may be eligible for a bursary of 拢9,000 if:
- they鈥檙e studying on a聽QTS聽course in secondary mathematics or physics
- they鈥檙e studying on an opt-in聽QTS聽course in secondary undergraduate mathematics, physics, computing or languages
- their course starts in the 2026 to 2027 academic year
They鈥檒l receive the bursary in the final year of their course.
If an eligible trainee is on a 4-year undergraduate course that leads to聽QTS聽and a master鈥檚 degree, they will receive a 拢9,000 bursary in both the third and fourth years of their course.
Further guidance on undergraduate bursaries is available in the聽initial teacher training (ITT) bursary: funding manual.
Undergraduate veteran teaching bursary
Undergraduate veterans may be eligible for a 拢40,000 training bursary if:
- they鈥檝e left full time employment with the British Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy
- they left no more than 5 years before the start of their course
- they enrol on an eligible聽QTS聽course in secondary biology, chemistry, computing, languages, mathematics or physics
- their course starts in the 2026 to 2027 academic year
Trainees will receive 拢20,000 in each of the last 2 years of their course, in equal monthly instalments.
Further guidance on the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available in the聽initial teacher training (ITT) bursary: funding manual.
School Direct (salaried) route
For trainees on a School Direct (salaried) training route, we give grants to聽ITT聽providers to contribute to the trainee鈥檚 salary and training costs.
ITT聽providers are responsible for ensuring that all grant funding designated to support salary costs reaches the employing school, so it can be used for its intended purpose.
Grants are paid on a per trainee basis. For 2026 to 2027, we鈥檙e offering grants of:
- 拢29,000 for chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics
- 拢20,000 for design and technology and languages (including ancient languages)
- 拢5,000 for biology and geography
School Direct (salaried) trainees are not eligible for bursaries or scholarships.
Further guidance about School Direct (salaried) funding is available in the聽School Direct (salaried) funding manual.
Postgraduate teaching apprenticeships
For the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship training route, we give grants to聽ITT聽providers to contribute to the trainee鈥檚 salary and training costs.
ITT聽providers are responsible for ensuring that all grant funding designated to support salary costs reaches the employing school, so it can be used for its intended purpose.
This grant is in addition to apprenticeship funding, which is for training and assessment costs only.
For 2026 to 2027, postgraduate teaching apprenticeship grants are the same value as the bursary.
The additional apprenticeship funding is available in all subjects.
Grants are paid on a per trainee basis. For 2026 to 2027, we鈥檙e offering grants of:
- 拢29,000 for chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics
- 拢20,000 for design and technology and languages (including ancient languages)
- 拢5,000 for biology and geography
Further guidance about postgraduate teaching apprenticeship funding is available in the聽postgraduate teaching apprenticeships funding manual.
Teacher degree apprenticeship pilot
We鈥檙e continuing to offer grants for up to 150 secondary mathematics trainees who start the teacher degree apprenticeship in the 2026 to 2027 academic year . The grants will be paid to聽ITT聽providers to contribute to the trainee鈥檚 salary and training costs.聽聽
ITT聽providers are responsible for ensuring that all grant funding designated to support salary costs reaches the employing school so that it can be used for its intended purpose.
This grant is in addition to apprenticeship funding, which is for training and assessment costs only.
The grants cover the proportion of time trainees will spend studying towards their qualification, which we expect to be an average of 40% across the whole of the 4-year course.
Grant funding agreements
The grant funding agreement is between the聽ITT聽provider and聽DfE. It sets out how you should treat the grant funding, along with the relevant funding manuals and聽DfE聽grant funding agreement: terms and conditions.
ITT聽providers will need to complete and return the relevant grant funding agreement if:
- they鈥檙e a new聽ITT聽provider in the 2026 to 2027 academic year
- they did not receive grant funding in the 2025 to 2026 academic year such as a training bursary or a School Direct (salaried) or postgraduate teaching apprenticeship
We鈥檒l contact the relevant聽ITT聽providers before the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year.
We鈥檒l need to receive and accept the grant funding agreement before we release any grant funding. If you need more information, email GFA.ITTFunding@education.gov.uk.
Contact us
For funding and audit grant return queries, email the聽ITT聽funding team at itt.funding@education.gov.uk