£5000 incentive to attract new Biology teachers as 50% more future secondary teachers accept training places in Wales

The Welsh Government will today (14 Oct) announce that increased incentives will be offered to attract more Biology teachers from next year. In the last five years, Biology has fallen into the bottom five subjects for the number of applications per teacher post.

• Incentives to train to teach Biology increased to address fall in teacher numbers
• 200 more trainee teachers accept places on PGCE courses this year, an increase of over 50%
• Teacher pay rises confirmed today, including rise of 8.48% to the minimum main pay range

Trainee Biology PGCE teachers will be able to access additional support of up to £20,000, for graduates with a first class or a Master’s degree. Other subjects which attract the highest incentives include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Welsh.

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive scheme, for Welsh-medium teachers, will also continue, offering incentives of up to £5,000, meaning trainee teachers can receive up to £25,000 in total.

Initial indications of recruitment to full time Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes show that over 200 more students have accepted offers to study to become secondary teachers this year. There were 690 acceptances of places in August 2020, compared to 449 in August 2019.

The Welsh Government will also confirm pay increases for teachers today, backdated to 1 September, with rises of at least 2.75% for all teachers. The Welsh Government will provide over £5.5 million to local authorities to support the cost of the pay award this year.

Speaking ahead of a policy briefing on teacher recruitment and retention today, the Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, said: 

“Priority subject incentive schemes help attract high quality professionals to the teaching workforce. I’m pleased to be able to continue the incentives and raise the maximum support to attract new Biology teachers, to respond to the increased demand.

“I’m also pleased that indications are that recruitment to our full time training programmes has increased by 200 this year, strengthening our teacher workforce in Wales further.

“I would also like to confirm today the uplift of pay to reward our highly skilled and hardworking teachers in Wales. We have continued to diverge from the proposals in England by awarding teachers in Wales higher starting pay and introducing some key changes, such as experience-based pay progression and national statutory pay scales. This will help promote teaching as a profession of choice for graduates and career changers.”

Priority Subject Incentive Scheme for student teachers entering ITE in AY2021/22

The Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme is an incentive paid to eligible persons who complete an accredited secondary postgraduate ITE programme in Wales that enables them to teach through the medium of Welsh or teach Welsh as a subject.

A total of £5000 for eligible student teachers paid in two instalments:

1. £2,500 for eligible persons on completion of an eligible secondary postgraduate ITE programme in Wales leading to QTS;
2. £2,500 for eligible persons on successful completion of induction at a maintained Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary school or teaching Welsh in any maintained secondary setting in Wales

September 2020 teacher pay award

i. a 8.48% uplift has been applied to the minimum of the Teacher Main Pay Range.

ii. a 3.75% uplift has been applied to the statutory maxima of the main pay range.

iii. 2.75% uplift has been applied to the statutory minima and maxima of the upper pay range.

iv. a 2.75% uplift has been applied to the statutory minima and maxima of the leading practitioner pay range, the unqualified teachers’ pay range, the leadership pay ranges (including headteacher groups) and all allowances across all pay ranges.

v. Statutory national pay scales have been reintroduced for all pay points on the Teacher Main Pay Range, Teacher Upper Pay Range, Unqualified Teachers’ Pay Range and Leadership Pay Ranges.

vi. In accordance with their own pay policy, schools should ensure a 2.75% uplift across interim pay points of the leading practitioner pay range and teacher allowances to match the uplift to the national framework in making individual pay progression decisions.

All pay uplifts will be from 1 September 2020.

Cymhellion i ddenu athrawon Bioleg newydd wrth i 50% yn fwy o athrawon uwchradd y dyfodol dderbyn lleoedd hyfforddi

Heddiw, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn cyhoeddi y bydd mwy o gymhellion yn cael eu cynnig i ddenu mwy o athrawon Bioleg o’r flwyddyn nesaf ymlaen. Yn ystod y pum mlynedd ddiwethaf, mae Bioleg wedi disgyn i’r pum pwnc isaf o ran nifer y ceisiadau fesul swydd athro.

Bydd athrawon TAR Bioleg dan hyfforddiant yn gallu cael cymorth ychwanegol o hyd at £20,000 i raddedigion â gradd dosbarth cyntaf neu radd Meistr. Ymysg y pynciau eraill sy’n denu’r cymhellion uchaf mae Mathemateg, Ffiseg, Cemeg a Chymraeg.

Bydd cynllun cymhelliant Iaith Athrawon Yfory, ar gyfer athrawon cyfrwng Cymraeg, hefyd yn parhau, gan gynnig cymhellion o hyd at £5,000, sy’n golygu y gall athrawon dan hyfforddiant dderbyn cyfanswm o hyd at £25,000.

Mae arwyddion cychwynnol recriwtio i raglenni Addysg Gychwynnol Athrawon llawn amser yn dangos bod dros 200 yn fwy o fyfyrwyr wedi derbyn cynigion i astudio i fod yn athrawon uwchradd eleni. Cafodd 690 o leoedd eu derbyn ym mis Awst 2020, o’i gymharu â 449 ym mis Awst 2019.

Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru hefyd yn cadarnhau codiadau cyflog i athrawon heddiw, wedi’u ôl-ddyddio i 1 Medi, gyda chynnydd o 2.75% o leiaf ar gyfer pob athro. Bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn darparu dros £5.5 miliwn i awdurdodau lleol i gefnogi cost y dyfarniad cyflog eleni.

Wrth siarad cyn sesiwn friffio polisi heddiw ar recriwtio a chadw athrawon, dywedodd y Gweinidog Addysg, Kirsty Williams: 

“Mae cynlluniau cymell pynciau â blaenoriaeth yn helpu i ddenu gweithwyr proffesiynol o ansawdd uchel i’r gweithlu addysgu. Rwy’n falch o allu parhau â’r cymhellion a chynyddu uchafswm y cymorth i ddenu athrawon Bioleg newydd, er mwyn ymateb i’r galw cynyddol.

 “Rwyf hefyd yn falch bod 200 yn fwy wedi cael eu recriwtio i’n rhaglenni hyfforddi llawn amser eleni, gan gryfhau ein gweithlu athrawon yng Nghymru ymhellach.

 “Hoffwn hefyd gadarnhau heddiw y codiad cyflog i wobrwyo ein hathrawon medrus a gweithgar yma yng Nghymru. Rydym wedi parhau i ymwahanu oddi wrth y cynigion yn Lloegr drwy ddyfarnu cyflog cychwynnol uwch i athrawon a chyflwyno rhai newidiadau allweddol, megis dilyniant cyflog ar sail profiad a graddfeydd cyflog statudol cenedlaethol. Bydd hyn yn helpu i hyrwyddo addysgu fel proffesiwn o ddewis i raddedigion a’r rhai sy’n newid gyrfa.”