Teachers’ student loan reimbursement: guidance for teachers and schools

Eligible teachers of languages, physics, chemistry, biology and computing can apply for student loan reimbursements for up to 11 financial years.

Register your interest

Teachers, schools and local authorities can register their interest and receive updates from the Department for Education.

Teachers: register your interest

Schools and local authorities: register your interest

Overview

Teachers’ student loan reimbursement aims to increase recruitment and retention in languages, physics, chemistry, biology and computing.

This guidance explains who can apply for a student loan reimbursement.

Applications for financial year 2018 to 2019 loan reimbursement open in late autumn 2019.

Eligibility criteria

Teachers must meet the employment and subject criteria to apply.

Employment eligibility criteria

This includes the length of service, location and type of school in which the teacher has taught.To be eligible for the reimbursement payments, teachers must have qualified teacher status (QTS) or qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS).

QTS

Teachers with QTS must have received or are due to receive their award in one of the years specified below:

• 2013 to 2014
• 2014 to 2015
• 2015 to 2016
• 2016 to 2017
• 2017 to 2018
• 2018 to 2019
• 2019 to 2020
• 2020 to 2021

QTLS

Teachers with QTLS status must be a member of the Society for Education and Training (SET) and have completed an initial teacher training (ITT) course in one of the years specified below:

• 2013 to 2014
• 2014 to 2015
• 2015 to 2016
• 2016 to 2017
• 2017 to 2018
• 2018 to 2019
• 2019 to 2020
• 2020 to 2021

Reimbursement periods

Teachers will be eligible for reimbursement payments for up to 11 financial years.

For the reimbursement period, teachers must be employed in a state-funded secondary (including middle-deemed secondary schools) in England, in either a:

• local-authority-maintained school
• academy or free school
• local-authority-maintained or non-maintained special school

Eligible local authorities

The school must be in one of the 25 eligible local authorities:

• Barnsley
• Blackpool
• Bracknell Forest
• Bradford
• Cambridgeshire
• Derby
• Derbyshire
• Doncaster
• Halton
• Knowsley
• Luton
• Middlesbrough
• Norfolk
• North-east Lincolnshire
• North Yorkshire
• Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Oldham
• Peterborough
• Portsmouth
• Salford
• Sefton
• St Helens
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Suffolk

Teachers must still be working as a teacher in a state-funded school in England when they claim for a student loan reimbursement.

Teachers employed in a private school or sixth-form college are not eligible for the student loan reimbursement.

Supply teachers are eligible if they meet all of the eligibility criteria. They must provide appropriate evidence to support this.

Subject eligibility criteria

Teachers must teach one or more of the eligible subjects:

• languages
• physics
• chemistry
• biology
• computing

Teachers must have spent at least 50% of their contracted hours teaching one or more of the eligible subjects during the year for which they are claiming. Schools may be asked to confirm this during the application process.

Payment

The amount reimbursed is determined by the student loan amount the teacher has repaid via PAYE to the Student Loans Company (SLC).

All academic years begin on 1 September and end on 31 August and all financial years begin on 1 April and end on 31 March.

The reimbursement payments are:

• not part of a teacher’s pay and should not be treated as pensionable payments
• subject to income tax and National Insurance (NI); the Department for Education will pay this cost to HMRC, neither the teacher nor the school will need to pay income tax or NI contributions on the student loan reimbursements

Teachers do not need to declare the student loan reimbursement payments to the Student Loans Company.

Apply for a student loan reimbursement

Applications for the financial year 2018 to 2019 open in late autumn 2019.

Contact

If you have any questions about teachers’ student loan reimbursement, please email us.

Financial incentives team

Email[email protected]

Published 24 October 2017
Last updated 5 October 2019 + show all updates

1. 5 October 2019 Added information for the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
2. 21 May 2019 Added links for teachers, schools and local authorities to register their interest and receive updates.
3. 27 September 2018 Information added about the academic year 2019 to 2020
4. 30 April 2018 Updated eligibility criteria, payment rates and application information.
5. 24 October 2017 First published.

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