Teacher training

1,300 teacher trainees to miss out on axed top-up courses

Desperate trainees have been left in tears after struggling to secure a place, course providers said

Desperate trainees have been left in tears after struggling to secure a place, course providers said

21 Jun 2024, 12:30

More from this author

Exclusive

Cuts to top-up teacher training courses will see 1,300 fewer trainees get additional support, potentially worsening the recruitment crisis.

Schools Week analysis has revealed the extent of the impact of the government decision to scale back the number of subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses it funds.

Desperate trainees have been left in tears after struggling to secure a place, course providers said.

Impact of cuts revealed

SKEs are designed to top up trainee teachers’ subject knowledge. They can be taken prior to or alongside initial teacher training and last between a fortnight and nine months.

James Noble-Rogers
James Noble Rogers

In March, Schools Week revealed that the government had cut the number of courses it funded from 10 to five subjects.

SKE providers are now no longer able to offer free courses for primary maths, D&T, English, biology and RE.

Our figures, obtained through freedom of information, show the government spent £12.8 million to provide the free courses in the last financial year.

Of this, £4.5 million (35 per cent) was spent on 1,300 courses in the subjects now axed.

James Noble-Rogers, executive director of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, said the cuts could lead to a “reduction in people training in these key subject areas”. Alternatively, trainees are “less likely to complete” their training.

“Or, if they do, [they will] be less secure in their subject knowledge when they enter the classroom,” he added.

Applicants in tears

Since May 31, 15 SKE providers have been removed from the government’s course directory – which lists those offering free courses.

Most of those who responded to our enquiries said this was because they had no places left to offer.

David Childs, head of education at Birmingham City University, said they had “taken the extraordinary step to continue providing unfunded SKEs” in a bid “to prevent a drop in numbers studying PGCEs”.

The free courses will only be offered to people who have applied to do a PGCE there.

A spokesperson for the University of Chichester said it has “had to turn trainees away, including those in shortage subjects such as maths”.

“Despite us being listed as closed on the directory, we continue to be contacted by potential trainee teachers looking for places,” they continued.

“For example, we were phoned by a maths applicant who was in tears because they had contacted 15 SKE providers who were all full.

She told us that she was going to lose her place on a maths PGCE course if she did not complete an SKE course.” 

‘Unexpected increase’

Leicester and Leicestershire SCITT saw “an unexpected increase” after the reductions were announced “as teacher training applicants required to undertake an SKE course needed to start ASAP”.

Its April to September funding allocation was subsequently utilised in “a matter of weeks”.

“It ultimately means we are unable to continue to onboard new SKE students. We have heard from other SKE providers that they are in a similar position.

“Our biggest concern is that we will lose trainee teachers from the profession, as they struggle to access these vital courses, and this is something that we all need to avoid.”

The SCITT noted that the DfE was liaising with providers who have used all their funding so they can be removed from the directory “to make it clearer to trainee teachers which [ones] can still offer” a course.

The DfE said there are now 468,700 full-time teachers in the system, an increase of 300 since last year.

Steps have been taken to address support for early career teachers and professional development for educators at all stages of their career, the department added.

Latest education roles from

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Solihull College and University Centre

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Navigating NPQ Funding Cuts: An Apprenticeship Success Story

Last year’s NPQ funding cuts meant that half of England’s teachers faced costs of up to £4,000 to complete...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all

Our EFA programme has been proven to help schools achieve better GCSE results, as evidenced by the EEF. Find...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building capacity in family support to tackle low school attendance 

Persistent and severe school absence impacts children, families, and communities—especially in disadvantaged areas. School-Home Support’s Attendance Support and Development Programme...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Teacher training

ECF and NPQ review: What you need to know

The government is planning a series of changes to the early career framework, and a full review in 2027

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Teacher training

DfE: New teacher training providers could get future accreditation ‘opportunities’

Clarification comes after bruising re-accreditation process saw 68 existing providers lose out

Lucas Cumiskey
Teacher training

Teacher training inspections won’t return until January 2026

ITT Ofsted inspections are set to be postponed this year, Schools Week understands, as new reforms introduced in September...

Lucas Cumiskey
Ofsted, Teacher training

Ofsted in talks with DfE about delaying ITT inspections

Providers due to be inspected from January are still waiting for guidance over how new reforms will be judged

Lucas Cumiskey

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *