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

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

New teacher training providers may have “future opportunities” to gain accreditation and enter the market, a Department for Education official has said.

The government’s 2021 ITT market review forced providers to go through a bruising re-accreditation process. Sixty-eight teacher trainers, responsible for training 16 per cent of all trainees in 2022-23, lost out.

This sparked fears teacher supply could be hit and that ITT cold spots might emerge. A re-accreditation round will launch next year, but won’t be open to new providers.

But Claire Plasser, team leader of teacher training and recruitment at the Department for Education today told the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers annual conference that would-be ITT providers might still have a chance to become accredited in the future.

“Looking to the future we want to work with you to support schools to meet the workforce challenges they’re facing, which may mean expanding your current provision to train more teachers where there’s demand from schools and from candidates,” she said.

“It may also mean future accreditation opportunities to accredit new providers where they’re needed, but this will be done in dialogue with the sector, through data sharing and discussions around areas where we think there’s untapped demand.”   

DfE ‘may open future accreditation rounds’

Earlier this month, Schools Week revealed the DfE would launch a new re-accreditation round for ITT providers in spring next year to “ensure ongoing coverage and efficient delivery”.

Emma Hollis
Emma Hollis

But only providers that were previously accredited, are a lead partner currently and have not received two consecutive ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ ratings will be eligible to apply.

Asked if there will be an opportunity for providers which have not delivered before to become accredited in future, Plasser said the DfE “may open future rounds of accreditation to providers, and we will be led by the data and insights on that”.

Emma Hollis, NASBTT’s chief executive, said a key lesson from the last accreditation round was the “importance of understanding local context”.

NASBTT also wants to avoid the market place “becoming increasingly crowded” because that just creates “lots of non-viable providers”, she said.

“There is a balance to be had between an open market and making sure we’ve got fresh people coming in and also respecting local context and availability of placement already, which perhaps wasn’t done as effectively as it could have been with market review process.”

‘Concerning’ numbers exited market

Gatsby Foundation-funded research by the Education Policy Institute previously found that, “concerningly”, the 68 providers that exited the market had trained 16 per cent (4,491) of all trainee teachers in 2022-23. 

Only 179 providers were accredited.

De-accredited providers were able to continue to operate by entering partnerships with accredited providers.

In a blog post in November, the National Foundation for Educational Research’s school workforce lead Jack Worth said “a catastrophic loss of training capacity from the ITT market review seems to be one risk that is off the table”.

But he warned that “increased expectations on schools from concurrent teacher training and development reforms being too much for some schools to bear remains a potential cause for concern”.

Nearly half of providers ‘optimistic’ about future of ITT

It comes as a NASBTT members survey found 48 per cent of respondents were “quite optimistic” about the prospects for ITT under the new government

But 38 per cent of providers said it was “too early to say”. The poll received responses from 48 of NASBTT’s 177 members.

Hollis told the virtual conference that “I think we’re in a cautious yet hopeful space as Labour begins to deliver on its education promises.

“As the voice of school-based initial teacher training providers, we welcome this change in tone from government – it seems to be a tone that acknowledges the vital role of our sector and it seeks to raise the status of the teaching profession, which I know we’ve all been calling for for a long time,” she later added.

But Hollis said common themes in the survey responses included “some scepticism about whether those ambitious recruitment targets can really be met”.

Latest education roles from

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Chief Education Officer (Deputy CEO)

Romero Catholic Academy Trust

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Director of Academy Finance and Operations

Ormiston Academies Trust

Principal & Chief Executive

Principal & Chief Executive

Truro & Penwith College

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

Group Director of Marketing, Communications & External Engagement

London & South East Education Group

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

AI Safety: From DfE Guidance to Classroom Confidence

Darren Coxon, edtech consultant and AI education specialist, working with The National College, explores the DfE’s expectations for AI...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

How accurate spend information is helping schools identify savings

One the biggest issues schools face when it comes to saving money on everyday purchases is a lack of...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building Character, Increasing Engagement and Growing Leaders: A Whole School Approach

Research increasingly shows that character education is just as important as academic achievement in shaping pupils’ long-term success. Studies...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Educators launch national AI framework to guide schools and colleges

More than 250 schools and colleges across the UK have already enrolled in AiEd Certified, a new certification framework...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Teacher training

DfE swings axe on teacher training bursaries after recruitment pick-up

Cuts revealed for teacher training incentives in English, maths, biology, geography music, and languages - despite Labour's recruitment pledge

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Teacher training

Revealed: 5 key findings from Ofsted teacher training review

'Inconsistent' mentoring experiences, the changing profile of applicants, and SEND training challenges

Lydia Chantler-Hicks
Teacher training

NPQs take-up collapses after government funding cut

Starts on qualifications for aspiring leaders fall by a third after most subsidies withdrawn

Freddie Whittaker
Teacher training

12 teacher training providers set for reaccreditation

Twelve institutions that lost teacher training accreditation following a bruising market review are on course to be reaccredited

Lydia Chantler-Hicks

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

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