Guidance for providers on initial teacher training (ITT).

This information is for potential and existing initial teacher training (ITT) providers offering or considering to offer ITT provision. It provides guidance and support on all aspects of running your ITT programme.

You can work with the Department for Education (DfE) to offer ITT teacher training through the following routes:

  • provider-led – run by higher education institutes (HEIs) or school centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers
  • School Direct (fee funded) and School Direct (salaried) – run by schools

For School Direct provider guidance visit our School Direct collection.

For early years ITT read our early years initial teacher training (ITT): a guide for providers information.

We do not allocate places to ITT providers for:

  • Teach First – intensive work-based training for high academic achievers
  • assessment only – for professionals who do not require training to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards

If you’d like to become a teacher, please visit our Get into Teaching website.

Become an ITT provider

Only ITT providers accredited by DfE can recommend trainees for qualified teacher status (QTS). We won’t consider schools for accreditation if their most recent Ofsted inspection is less than good.

The database of trainee teachers and providers (DTTP) access

Running your ITT programme

Changing or closing your ITT provision

In some circumstances you can migrate your ITT accreditation to another accredited entity. If you no longer want to offer ITT, you must follow the ITT provider closure guidance.

If you’re deemed non-compliant with the ITT criteria either by Ofsted during an initial teacher education inspection or by DfE, you may enter the accreditation withdrawal process.

Allocations and recruitment data

Allocation methodologies from previous years are published and available for providers to access.

ITT statistics

In order for schools to make well-informed decisions about the partners they work with, we recommend looking at the following statistics when choosing a partner provider for ITT.

Published 29 October 2013
Last updated 13 October 2020 + show all updates

  1. Added ‘Funding: initial teacher training (ITT)’ which will always have the next, current and past academic year guidance documents.

  2. Added ‘Recruit trainee teachers from overseas: accredited ITT providers’.

  3. Added ‘Funding: ITT coronavirus (COVID-19) course extensions 2019 to 2020’.

  4. Added initial teacher training (ITT) funding guidance for the academic year 2020 to 2021.

  5. Added ITT allocations methodology for 2020 to 2021 information to the existing page about requesting ITT training places.

  6. Updated the link to the database of trainee teachers and providers (DTTP).

  7. Added ‘Requesting initial teacher training places: 2020 to 2021’.

  8. Added Initial teacher training (ITT): requesting places 2019 to 2020 and removed ITT: requesting places and allocations methodology 2017 to 2018.

  9. Registering initial teacher training places 2016 to 2017 and The allocation of undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) places guidance pages added.

  10. Training bursary guide 2015-2016, School Direct funding manual 2015 to 2016 and Funding: initial teacher training (ITT), academic year 2015 to 2016 added.

  11. New guidance: Undergraduate Continuer Funding AY14 to 15 has been added to this collection

  12. Added a guide to funding initial teacher training, and subject knowledge enhancement course information

  13. Added School Direct operations manual and training bursary guide: academic year 2014 to 2015

  14. All relevant ITT documents have been grouped together and added to this collection. Links to further information added to description text.

  15. First published.

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