ITT 2019

I am writing to thank you for your recruitment efforts to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) this year. I am pleased to report that the recruitment position has continued to improve over the course of the cycle, with good progress being made in priority EBacc subjects, which have seen a 2% increase in acceptances recorded compared with the same point last year.

Candidate behaviour has changed in recent years. Increasingly, more applications are being submitted up to and over the summer period, and I anticipate this will be the case again this year. With this in mind, I asked my officials to find out what more could be done to support both you and candidates over the summer period to help maximise recruitment to ITT.

ITT providers said that marketing around the time of exam results would be helpful. In response, this year, I have agreed to increase marketing activity through the summer for the Every Lesson Shapes a Life campaign, which has received positive feedback since it was launched. We will be running four weeks of TV advertising and supplementary digital marketing, which will coincide with this year’s cohort of graduates leaving university and entering the job market. I hope that this will support you to attract recent graduates who may be considering a career in teaching.

People interested in applying to ITT have said they can find it difficult to know which courses are open to new applications over the summer months. To support both them and you, you will again this year be able to access the Summer Recruitment Service. This service will support potential applicants during the summer using the Teacher Training Adviser (TTA) service. TTAs are experienced teachers who have an excellent track record in supporting applicants in all subjects (except PE) via the Get into Teaching Line, and will signpost candidates to providers and schools that have confirmed with my officials that they are continuing to recruit over the summer. The service was well received last year, and I encourage all providers and schools who are recruiting over the summer period to opt-in.

It is essential that every candidate is given the opportunity to find a course that is right for them. Therefore, if you do decide to stop recruiting at any point before or during the summer, I ask that you close your courses on Publish teacher training courses. This will ensure that candidates are only making applications to providers and schools that are continuing to make offers. If someone applies to a course which appears open, but is not, then this risks losing good candidates. As with previous years, from July Vt applications which are not dealt with within 20 days will be automatically rejected on the UCAS system. To try to minimise this loss, my officials may contact you if it does not appear that you are actively recruiting, but still have courses open on the Find and/or Apply for ITT services over the summer period.

I have also been told that access to the skills tests can be a barrier. In response, I have increased the availability of skills tests, to ensure that candidates can book tests at a time and location which is suitable for them. New test-centre locations are now live in Truro, Hull and Carlisle. Centres in Peterborough, Brighton, Ashford and Kent will be opened in June. In areas not currently located near a centre, there is the option of a “pop-up” test centre model. If you are interested in this model, please contact us at Skills.TESTS@education.gov.uk.

Additionally, I want to continue to work with you to remove unnecessary barriers to recruitment. You will be aware, for example, of the changes made to Ofsted’s Initial Teacher Education Inspection Handbook earlier in the year. The decision to remove completion rates from the ‘quality of outcomes’ judgement represents a positive step toward eliminating one such barrier by offering greater flexibility in your recruitment, following the implementation of the new policy in April 2019. I should be grateful if you would continue to engage with my officials in relation to UCAS rejections, and to ensure they are managed and recorded correctly. If a candidate is not right for your course and is rejected, then I ask you to encourage them to call the Get into Teaching Line on 0800 389 2500, for help and support from a TTA in finding an alternative ITT course which is right for them.

You will also be aware that for ITT 2019, I removed recruitment constraints on School Direct lead schools and ITT providers, so you can continue recruiting without limit in the majority of subjects. As set out in the recruitment and retention strategy, this unrestricted approach will be in place until 2021. I should also be grateful if you would continue to take full advantage of our funded subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses when recruiting to hard-to-fill subjects. For further information, please visit the dedicated SKE pages on the government website

Thank you for your contribution to ITT recruitment so far, which will help to ensure that all children have access to high quality teachers. My officials will contact you at the end of June with further information regarding the Summer Recruitment Service.

Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP
Minister of State for School Standards