One in five FE teachers would have left without retention payment, DfE finds

A first year evaluation of the Further Education Targeted Retention Incentive (FE TRI) has found that 21% of teachers receiving the payment said they would not have stayed teaching in FE without it, with 96% saying it had at least some impact on their decision to stay.

The interim report, published by the Department for Education on 30 April and authored by CFE Research, draws on surveys of 2,943 FE TRI claimants and 87 HR and senior leadership staff, alongside case study interviews at eight providers. It covers the first round of the scheme, which ran from October 2024 to March 2025 and paid between £2,000 and £6,000 after tax to early career teachers in seven priority subjects.

In total, 5,974 teachers across 269 providers received the payment in year one. Most claimants (83%) received the maximum £6,000, with the average award sitting at £5,700. General Further Education Colleges accounted for 91% of payments, and providers with the highest proportion of disadvantaged learners received 88% of the total.

Building and construction, maths and engineering dominate

Around three quarters of payments went to teachers of three subjects: building and construction (29%), maths (23%), and engineering and manufacturing (20%). Computing took 10%, early years 9%, and chemistry and physics together accounted for just 5%. The skew partly reflects which providers received most of the payments, with GFECs delivering the bulk of claims and sixth form colleges and 16 to 19 academies, where most A-level science teachers sit, receiving far fewer.

These same subjects were also flagged as the hardest to retain and recruit. More than four fifths of HR and SLT respondents (81%) reported retention issues with building and construction, and two thirds (67%) with engineering and manufacturing. On recruitment, 58% of respondents said it was difficult or very difficult to recruit FE teaching staff overall, with 61% reporting it took more than three months to fill vacancies in their hardest subject area.

Financial wellbeing and recognition

Half of claimants (50%) agreed they were paid fairly once the TRI was included, although only 41% felt their pay compared favourably with similar roles in other organisations. Interview findings suggested the payment had reduced financial stress, helped teachers cover unexpected costs or pay down debt, and in some cases enabled holidays or savings for the first time in years.

Many claimants also described feeling more valued and recognised, with several saying the payment helped offset the perceived drawbacks of FE teaching, particularly low pay and high workload. Dual professionals, those who had previously worked in industry, and teachers of apprenticeships were significantly more likely than other groups to say they would have left without the payment.

Cliff edge and parity concerns

The report flags two significant risks. First, several HR and SLT interviewees raised concerns about what happens when the five year payment window ends for a teacher, or if the scheme is discontinued. Funding beyond Round 2 has not been confirmed. Some claimants told evaluators they would view the loss as a pay cut and start looking for better paid roles in industry or schools.

“If they stop rolling [the TRI] out, it will be like a sudden pay cut. It makes you look elsewhere, and it makes you less likely to keep pushing through the hard times and those pinch points.” — FE TRI claimant

Second, a parity issue is emerging within colleges. Some HR and SLT staff reported cases where teachers with ten years’ experience were earning less than early career colleagues once the TRI was factored in. Long serving teachers and those teaching ineligible subjects were said to feel less valued, which evaluators warned could lead to increased attrition among more experienced staff and damage quality of provision.

Recruitment impact limited

Use of the TRI as a recruitment tool has so far been minimal. HR and SLT interviewees said the scheme’s branding as a retention payment, combined with insufficient lead in time for round one, meant most providers did not incorporate it into recruitment materials. Because every statutory provider is eligible, it also fails to give any individual provider a competitive edge.

“Would I say it made us more attractive, yes, but if everybody’s doing it then it’s the same. So, do I think it had an impact on our recruitment this year? No, probably not.” — HR/SLT staff member

Workload, ranked by both teachers and HR staff as the least rewarding aspect of FE teaching, remains untouched by the payment. The evaluators note that the impact of the TRI on retention, recruitment and quality of provision could be limited unless it is accompanied by wider improvements to teachers’ overall pay, terms and working conditions.

What’s next

Round 2 of the FE TRI opened in March 2026 and runs until May 2026. The application window has been pushed back from the autumn to ensure teachers complete a full academic year before claiming, although some HR staff have raised concerns this could miss eligible teachers who leave during the autumn term.

A quasi-experimental evaluation running alongside the theory-based study will report in late 2027 and is expected to provide a more robust impact estimate. The year two evaluation will also look at effects on non-statutory providers, who are not currently eligible for the payment, and whether gaps are opening up in independent training provider provision as a result.

The full interim report is available on GOV.UK.