Guidance

Delivery guidance for courses of further education initial teacher education

Updated 21 January 2026

Applies to England

This is a draft document published at this stage in order to support Parliamentary consideration of the underpinning regulations. It will only become formal guidance if Parliament approves the regulations.

Overview

This guidance replaces the existing Expectations for the delivery of FE ITE for all courses commencing in academic year 2026 to 2027 or later.

This guidance is issued by the Department for Education (DfE) under The Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026, made in accordance with section 17 of the Skills and Post 16 Education Act 2022.

All educational institutions that deliver specified further education (FE) initial teacher education (ITE) courses in England are required to have regard to this guidance. This means that providers should consider its approach and content seriously and use it to inform the development and delivery of specified FE ITE courses that commence on or after 1 September 2026. The Secretary of State for Education is also required to publish an annual report on ITE, which must include a summary of how relevant academic authorities are meeting their obligations, including for delivery of FE ITE programmes.

This guidance explains the essential elements for the delivery of high-quality ITE programmes for the FE sector. It should be read alongside the Curriculum content guidance for FE ITE (curriculum guidance), which sets the expected standards for the content and curriculum of specified FE ITE courses. Taken together, these 2 pieces of guidance set the minimum quality expectations for all specified FE ITE courses.

As set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, excellent teaching in the FE sector is vital to delivering reform of the post-16 education and skills system and ensuring the development of a skilled workforce. Raising the quality of ITE is vital to drive up standards across FE teaching and to secure the best outcomes for students.

This guidance sets DfE’s requirements for the delivery of specified FE ITE courses. All providers of such courses must have regard to this guidance, which supports our aims to:

• secure high and rising standards
• break down barriers to opportunity
• ensure that all trainees are supported to achieve high-quality outcomes
• improve coherence in the FE ITE system to support trainees into employment
• achieve good value for the investment of public funds

DfE will update this guidance from time to time to ensure it remains up to date. We will notify providers of any changes primarily via the termly FE ITE newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please email FE.ITENEWSLETTER@education.gov.uk.

Who this guidance is for

This guidance is for all organisations delivering one or more specified FE ITE course in England.

All providers of specified FE ITE courses must have regard to this guidance, regardless of whether they or their students are receiving any public funding for a specified course (or courses). This means that providers should consider its approach and content seriously and use it to inform the development and delivery of specified FE ITE courses that commence on or after 1 September 2026.

This guidance can be used by:

• awarding organisations (AOs) and higher education providers (HEPs) with degree-awarding powers (DAPs) as they develop new qualifications or curricula for FE ITE programmes, or when amending existing qualifications (including when ensuring that any changes to published curriculum guidance
• providers who deliver qualifications through partnerships or other commercial relationships - to provide support to organisations delivering their qualifications to ensure they are achieving the highest quality
• employers of teachers in the FE sector - to understand the delivery requirements of specified courses that their staff may undertake
• current and prospective trainees - to understand what they should expect from ITE programmes and to inform decisions about where to undertake training

This guidance does not apply to any qualifications or apprenticeships delivered at level 3 or 4 that may be taken before achieving the recognised standard for teaching in FE. This includes the Certificate in Education and Training (CET) or the Award in Education and Training (AET). However, we recommend that providers of those qualifications consider this guidance as a source of advice on effective practice.

This guidance does not apply to programmes leading to qualified teacher status (QTS) or to early years teacher status (EYTS).

Legislation this guidance refers to

This guidance refers to:

• The Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 (section 17)
• The Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026

Public funding

A range of public funding options are available for specified FE ITE courses.

Routes of delivery

FE sector employers often make use of employment-based (in-service) ITE, particularly when recruiting teachers in technical and vocational subjects. They might look to recruit someone who is currently employed in that area or has relevant prior experience.

Recruitment for teachers of academic or classroom-based subjects often follows different patterns. Pre-service training routes might be more appropriate to train new teachers in these subjects.

We expect that the majority of FE ITE will be employment based, through:

• in-service programmes commissioned or delivered by the employers of teachers, such as colleges
• apprenticeships

This is one of the main areas in which delivery routes for teacher training for the FE sector differ from those for schools.

A smaller number of pre-service programmes, mainly delivered by HEPs in collaboration with FE colleges, will continue to provide training for FE teachers for certain, largely academic or classroom-based, subjects.

Regardless of the route of delivery, providers of specified FE ITE courses should ensure that:

• their courses reflect the subject-specific nature of FE ITE^{[footnote 1]}
• they refer to the Curriculum guidance to ensure that ITE programmes support trainees to develop and demonstrate subject expertise
• all courses allow trainees to meet all the elements of the relevant occupational standard
• all courses demonstrably provide a solid grounding in the knowledge, skills and behaviours that trainees will require for successful employment in the FE sector

ITE programmes are generally delivered face to face, reflecting the in-person nature of most teaching. Where required, programmes can also include hybrid delivery elements that combine live online lessons alongside face-to-face learning. Individual FE ITE qualifications, such as the Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills) may contain an expectation that trainees develop and demonstrate the requisite skills and knowledge relating to different teaching environments, including online or hybrid delivery.

Differences between qualification levels

The List of specified FE ITE courses includes all courses, at each level, that are subject to these regulations.

We expect HE providers who choose to deliver qualifications above level 5 to demonstrate a significant and qualitative difference from baseline level 5 programmes, beyond solely the assessment of the qualification.

Qualifications at higher levels should reflect the requirements associated with the level of content and methods of delivery - for example, aligning with the relevant Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education benchmarks.

Preparing teachers for the FE sector

The process of becoming a teacher is complex. Providers are expected to design and deliver curricula appropriate for the age ranges of their trainees, and the subjects and settings trainees will be working in.

The curriculum guidance is organised around 5 pillars for high-quality practice and evidence-informed FE ITE programmes. All FE ITE providers are required to have regard to this. The curriculum guidance is based on current research and sector insights to provide curriculum content for the training of effective teaching practitioners for the FE sector. It should be used alongside the relevant occupational standard to prepare trainees to teach in the FE sector. The content and curriculum of every FE ITE programme should be carefully crafted and sequenced in such a way as to support trainees to succeed as teachers in FE settings.

DfE has produced a guide to effective practice in curriculum planning, which we recommend as a useful resource.

It is essential that FE ITE programmes prepare individuals to be effective teachers in the FE sector. They should enable trainees to share their professional expertise across their teaching careers. While in-service programmes often lead to continuing employment, pre-service trainees will have to secure employment during or after their training. ITE providers should put in place appropriate, high-quality support for this.

High-quality pre-service programmes should proactively gather information about the destinations of all graduating trainees and utilise this as evidence of their effectiveness and impact. ITE providers should gather the following information as a minimum, noting that the regulations allow for government to request this:

• trainee’s employment status
• employer name, if applicable

Providers of specified FE ITE courses should collect this information at least once, 6 months after trainees complete the programme, and in a form that can be made available to DfE.

Subject-specific considerations

The qualification and apprenticeship routes are designed to be delivered as subject-specific ITE.

Subject knowledge should not be located solely in any practice element of an ITE programme. The challenge of teaching a subject may be explored further in practice with the support of experienced and trained mentors.

It is important that trainees and employers have a clear understanding of the value and limitations of any particular subject training when making decisions about the suitability of particular courses.

Mentors and mentoring

Subject-specific mentors and subject specialists play a pivotal role in providing coherence between theory and practice in ITE programmes. Providers are responsible for the quality of all specialists and mentors who support their programmes. This includes:

• identifying, training and supporting mentors, alongside placement providers and employers, in their role
• ensuring both the quality and consistency of mentoring and mentoring oversight across their programmes, including in the tailored or subject-specialist support that mentors offer (where appropriate to the programme)

Quality assurance of, and support for, mentors should be an ongoing process. Identifying the need for intervention to enable mentors to offer the best possible support should be integral to all programmes.

Since November 2023, DfE has supported a teacher mentoring programme to improve mentoring for early career teachers in the FE sector. This is currently delivered through Cognition Learning Group. Providers may wish to use the resources, developed with practitioners and leaders from the FE sector, to support mentors within their organisation.

The leading teacher development national professional qualification (NPQ) is designed to develop the capacity of teacher educators to support new teachers. It is open to those supporting teachers across the FE sector.

There are obvious challenges to managing mentors across several organisations within an ITE partnership. Providers are responsible for the quality of mentors and should set up systems to support those related to their programme.

Trainees should not be required to find their own mentor as part of a recruitment process. In employment-based ITE, employers should be part of the process of agreeing an appropriate mentor for their organisation, if one is available. For pre-service programmes, the responsibility rests with the ITE provider.

Teaching practice and placements

Teaching placement and practice are integral to becoming a high-quality teacher. All providers of specified FE ITE courses are expected to recognise and prioritise the practical elements of FE ITE.

For the purpose of this guidance, teaching placement is the supervised and assessed block of teaching integral to an FE ITE programme. This includes teaching practice while also offering opportunities for trainees to demonstrate the occupational standard through other professional activities outside of the classroom.

Teaching practice is the practical teaching experience a trainee undertakes as part of their teaching placement. This provides the trainee with opportunities to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in training in a real-world teaching setting. Appropriate teaching practice should be built into all FE ITE programmes at the relevant point of delivery.

Teaching placement should not be viewed as a standalone element of any ITE programme but should be fully sequenced and integrated as part of the course curriculum. This encourages and supports trainees to apply the knowledge, skills and behaviours they are developing at different stages of their learning and to reflect on their effectiveness when delivering teaching in practice. Sequencing teaching placements and practice in this way allows trainees to ‘test and learn’ as they develop their professional practice.

For a trainee on an employment-based course, the teaching placement requirements will primarily be fulfilled by the teaching role for which they are employed. Teaching placements for pre-service trainees should take place in a setting appropriate to the sector and relevant to the subject in which the trainee intends to teach.

Providers should consider, for each of their trainees, how much teaching practice trainees need to be able to demonstrate the occupational standard in full. Providers should tailor placements to reflect the needs of each trainee.

For an apprentice, 80% of their training is defined as ‘on the job’. This is equivalent to the ‘teaching placement’ definition above, which includes their teaching practice alongside other professional practice activities.

For an FE ITE trainee undertaking a qualification, a minimum of 250 hours of placement should be undertaken, of which 150 hours should be teaching practice. This is in line with the Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills) framework, which has a minimum of 1,200 hours total qualification time.

Given the benefits of teaching practice for trainees, providers of specified FE ITE courses should note that the government sees the 250 hour teaching placement in the Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills) framework as an absolute minimum. Trainees will likely benefit from a greater number of placement hours. Providers of specified FE ITE courses should deliver, or be able to demonstrate progress towards delivering, pre-service qualifications with placement requirements closer to those available on employment-based programmes.

The theoretical and practical content of programmes should support the development of effective practice for each trainee in their chosen subject area. All assessments should be at the appropriate level for the qualification and should align with the occupational standard. Assessments should enable each trainee to demonstrate how they are developing their ability to work as a teacher in the sector.

Where a programme offers the opportunity for practice in more than one setting, or at a different level, this should form part of the overall learning of the trainee, in line with the occupational standard. It should contribute to their development and provide them with opportunities to take part in aspects of the teaching role that are not available elsewhere, with a direct relationship to the occupational standard.

Quality assurance processes

All providers of specified FE ITE courses should have in place quality assurance processes that give trainees, employers and government confidence that programmes are of high quality.

Ofsted carries out inspections through their ITE framework of all publicly funded ITE. The Ofsted toolkit, operating guide and framework sets out inspection principles and guidance.

Providers of FE ITE qualifications, in discussion with their AO or HE provider, are expected to have other quality assurance processes in place as part of their ongoing improvement activities.

Apprenticeships are required to meet all relevant quality assurance processes, as well as any requirements within the broader organisation. We recommend that all current and prospective LST apprenticeship providers review the expectations outlined in the provider guide to delivering high-quality apprenticeships.

Moderation

HEP-awarded and AO-validated qualifications should make use of effective internal and external moderation processes that demonstrate how they maintain the quality of the provision.

Internal moderation procedures should include:

• the involvement of expert staff from 2 or more placement partners when assessing trainees
• scrutiny by a moderating panel of a sample of trainees (including any judged by an assessor as likely to fail or as being on the pass and fail borderline)
• joint observations of trainees’ teaching
• discussions with relevant staff of available evidence, including trainees’ previous experience and achievements
• arrangements for feeding back information to the partnership about the accuracy and consistency of assessments and elements of good practice

Providers should make use of suitable external moderators. External moderators should have no direct involvement with the work of the partnership or validating organisation. They should be able to offer an external, objective perspective on the attainment of other providers’ trainees, which should help to verify the accuracy of the provider assessments.

Providers should consider how best to use external moderators to corroborate and standardise their trainee assessments. We expect providers to consider, when appointing external moderators, whether they have appropriate subject, curriculum or context expertise to enable them to provide high-quality, appropriate and specialist feedback.

In addition to any requirements of an organisation, we would expect that the responsibilities of external moderators might include:

• scrutiny of a sample of trainees, which includes a representative cross-section, as well as trainees that internal moderators regard as being likely to fail, or to be on the pass and fail borderline
• observation of the teaching of a sample of trainees
• discussion with internal assessors and moderators of all the evidence available on whether trainees have achieved the occupational standard
• scrutiny of internal moderation arrangements, drawing on evidence gained from other activities
• producing a report that includes an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, and the accuracy of the assessments of trainees’ attainment against the occupational standard
• where provision is at different levels, reviewing the appropriateness of assessment to demonstrate the ability of trainees at those levels and any improvements that could be made

Ongoing improvement activity

All providers should be able to demonstrate that they have ongoing improvement processes in place. This should be over and above any advice provided from validating organisations.

Providers should have a system of monitoring and evaluation that focuses on the quality of outcomes for trainees over time. It should also consider all aspects of delivery, including the quality of teaching practice and mentoring arrangements that support this. It should show how the partnership has adapted their programmes to deliver the best outcomes.

As part of a commitment to quality assurance, providers should have processes to review and regularly update the pedagogical content of their programmes.

This should include:

• evidence of the suitability of pedagogical knowledge for the specific subjects taught
• the contribution of the programme overall to trainees meeting the occupational standard
• evidence of how regard has been given to the curriculum guidance and how supporting evidential sources have been considered

In line with other teacher training programmes, providers should be able to measure the impact and outcomes of their programme, using methods that are evaluative rather than descriptive. These activities and processes might feed into their improvement plans.

Providers should compare data with similar sized programmes to form part of any evaluation and draw on evidence of what works from across the ITE system. We recommend that providers consider the FE ITE data reporting requirements as part of any evaluation.

Where providers are working with AOs rather than HEPs in the delivery of an FE ITE qualification, access to some of this information may need to be managed in different ways. Providers of specified FE ITE courses should be able to share information from their AO with DfE about the quality of their programme.

Leadership and management of programmes

Effective leadership and management are integral to delivering high-quality ITE. Those managing the delivery of ITE programmes, including senior managers in organisations, are responsible and accountable for all aspects of their programmes, and should ensure that all staff and partners are suitably equipped to carry out their roles effectively. They should be able to provide evidence, when necessary, to DfE, including but not restricted to the data requirements.

Where there are franchise or validation arrangements in place, there should be clear lines of communication and accountability between organisations for the management of the programme. Responsibilities should be clearly defined and accountability set out.

For pre-service programmes, responsible senior managers should be able to demonstrate that the programme, curriculum and delivery structure prepare trainees for the reality of teaching in FE. This should be achieved through engagement with teachers, employers and relevant organisations so that they understand what is required.

Structure of programmes

Those responsible for ITE programmes should demonstrate a coherent structure and sequencing. This should link content and delivery into a curriculum and assessment strategy that:

• allows each trainee to demonstrate they have met the occupational standard in a fair way
• ensures no trainee is recommended for award or gateway unless they have satisfactorily demonstrated all elements of the occupational standard
• provides a clear rationale for the structure and overall purpose of the programme and elements within it to trainees, employers and placement providers
• provides flexibility for adjustments for individual trainees or changes in circumstances
• ensures each trainee has opportunities to access a range of experiences within and across organisations by working with placement providers and mentors
• has quality assurance processes to ensure that all recommendations for award or gateway are secure and fair, where there are franchise or validation arrangements in place

Curriculum

Each provider of a specified FE ITE course, in discussion with their validating body, is responsible for their own curriculum and must have regard to guidance on the content and curriculum of those courses.

It is the responsibility of AOs and HEPs engaged in partnerships to support their delivery partners to ensure that relevant curricula are reviewed in the context of government guidance requirements.

Those responsible for managing an FE ITE programme should have evidence that their curriculum:

• gives due regard to curriculum guidance
• addresses all elements of the Learning and Skills Teacher (LST) occupational standard
• is high quality and ambitious
• is differentiated for and appropriate to the subjects the trainee will teach and the level at which they are studying

Those responsible for managing an FE ITE programme should ensure that they have evidence that trainees:

• experience a rigorous and evidence-based curriculum that prepares them to teach their subject in the sector
• have knowledge and understanding of a relevant range of theoretical approaches, teaching techniques and skills, in line with evidence-based best practice across the sector relevant to their subject
• learn and use the most effective approaches to teaching, learning and assessment
• learn the principles and practice of effective curriculum design, including the selection and sequencing of curriculum content, especially in relation to their subject specialism

Partnerships

We recognise that FE ITE partnerships can take different forms and involve a range of different organisations and professionals. These can include:

• validation arrangements
• franchised provision
• organisations that provide teaching practice placements
• individual mentors or other professionals who support practice

Providers of specified FE ITE courses maintain full responsibility for their partnerships. They should invest in them so that partners are fully engaged with their programme. All partners should be able to describe the type of partnership they are in and the benefits for them and trainees.

Within all partnership arrangements there should be clear lines of reporting and accountability. Where validation and franchise arrangements are in place, we expect those responsible for leading and managing programmes to have access to all relevant information and be able to demonstrate how they use this effectively.

Where an organisation works with a network of providers, they should be able to show:

• how the network is led and managed
• the role of quality assurance processes in maintaining quality for trainees across the whole partnership

Programmes can involve a range of partner organisations in different roles. Those with responsibility for programmes should have procedures in place to evaluate these arrangements and should take action to address any issues - for example by assessing the contribution made by placement organisations to the overall quality of the trainees’ experience.

Where necessary these procedures should include mechanisms for removing members from the partnership.

As part of their partnership arrangements, those responsible for ITE programmes are required to set clear expectations for recruitment and selection across all organisations.

Management of these relationships should ensure that:

• providers understand their responsibilities for recruitment and selection
• providers have processes and procedures that meet legal obligations
• only those with the requisite experience and ability to teach in FE are recruited

Quality assurance processes for partnerships

Those responsible for programmes should engage with any quality assurance processes that are required to support their delivery.

Senior managers responsible for partnerships or franchise arrangements should ensure that all members are supported to:

• engage with and benefit from quality assurance processes
• learn lessons and make improvements to ensure their provision is of the highest standard

Where shortfalls are identified, those with responsibility for the programme should take the lead in addressing the issues. They should use strengths from across the partnership, where appropriate, and draw on evidence of best practice from other ITE providers.

Boards, moderation and award

Those responsible for programmes or any validation or franchise arrangements should set out clear expectations for how any boards, moderation and award processes will be implemented. This should include how they will put all required processes in place, including arrangements for local decision making across their partnerships.

Where decision making is delegated, clear quality assurance and resolution processes should be available to trainees, so they understand:

• where and how decisions are reached
• how disagreement can be resolved

Employers and providers delivering the LST apprenticeship should follow the assessment plan requirements for decision making about gateway.

Continuous improvement

Those responsible for managing and leading programmes should set out how they are using continuous improvement processes to ensure that their provision and that of partner organisations continues to be of the highest quality.

Those who lead and manage provision should use all available opportunities to share best practice as part of a system-wide commitment to quality improvement and should be able to provide evidence of this to government on request.

Selection and quality of trainees

As with all initial teacher training, recruitment to FE ITE programmes should be on the basis of the potential to become an excellent teacher. Recruitment processes should reflect this.

Entry requirements and selection processes

Minimum entry requirements will continue to be set by each provider in conjunction with the relevant AO or HEP. Entry requirements should take into account the relevant occupational standard and qualification specification.

Entry requirements should reflect the needs of the sector, including that teachers:

• are well qualified or experienced in their chosen subject (or subjects)
• have a high level of literacy, numeracy and technological awareness

Providers should set high expectations for those wishing to teach in the FE sector.

For employment-based routes, entry requirements will generally be set by employers and agreed with ITE providers. Employers should consider the levels at which:

• qualifications are available
• a trainee will be expected to teach

Typically, employers will expect teachers to be qualified to at least one level above the highest level at which they will teach.

Recruitment to technical and vocational subjects reflects the fact that many specialist qualifications are only available up to level 4 or 5. Trainee teachers in these subjects are expected to:

• hold a relevant professional or industry-recognised qualification
• have significant and recent experience of working in their sector

Those seeking to teach academic subjects will generally be expected to be qualified to degree level, although this is at the discretion of individual providers and employers.

There should be rigorous recruitment processes that consider a wide range of evidence to judge applicants’ suitability to train to teach. This might include:

• application forms
• references
• results of any entry tests or tasks
• portfolios
• interviews

Selection processes should enable applicants to demonstrate their aptitude and ability against clear criteria. Applicants should be tested on their experience as well as knowledge where this is needed for a technical or vocational subject.

Applicants should not be rejected solely due to a lack of teaching experience. Providers should ensure that they can offer sufficient teaching practice and associated support for every trainee (for example, by ensuring that each has a high-quality, suitably trained mentor).

Where providers consider accreditation of prior learning (APL), they should make judgements in line with the policy of the organisation responsible for the qualification. External examiners and other quality assurance processes should verify that APL processes are used appropriately.

We do not expect providers to consider FE teaching qualifications below level 5, such as the AET (level 3) or the CET (level 4), when considering APL for qualifications at level 5 and above. These qualifications were developed as standalone awards in 2013 and do not reflect the new occupational standard.

Recruitment to pre-service programmes

Regardless of qualification requirements, we expect all providers of pre-service programmes to include an assessment of an applicant’s suitability to train to teach in the sector and their chosen subject (or subjects). This includes any health considerations as detailed in the Education Act 2002.

Providers must also ensure that applicants have been assessed as suitable to train to teach prior to being admitted to a programme. This will help to protect vulnerable students, both children and adults, from trainee teachers who might put them at risk of harm because their previous conduct shows they are unsuitable for teaching.

Recruitment to in-service programmes

For in-service programmes, employers have responsibility for assessing an individual’s suitability to train to teach in the sector and in their chosen subject (or subjects). This includes any health considerations as detailed in the Education Act 2002.

These checks should be completed before a programme starts. Where appropriate, employers should share relevant information with ITE providers, subject to data protection.

Minimum standards in maths, English and digital skills

As reflected in the LST occupational standard, teachers in FE may have more autonomy earlier in their career than those in schools. This may require them to take responsibility for aspects of administration as well as teaching. As a result, FE teachers should have good communication skills and be able to analyse and manage information and data. Shortfalls in skills or knowledge may be identified, either through the application process or subsequent assessment. If this is the case, trainees should work to improve their standards in English, maths or digital skills in addition to their teaching training.

It is the responsibility of trainees to secure the required English, maths and digital skills. Providers will support them throughout their qualification to achieve this. Providers will confirm through the assessment of a qualification if the expected standard has been reached, and that the trainee should be able to succeed as a teacher in FE.

Specific requirements may vary depending on the route or course taken. A level 2 qualification in English and maths should be considered the minimum level to show communication, literacy and numeracy skills. Providers should consider how well trainees can use their English and maths knowledge and skills to underpin effective teaching.

Where a trainee cannot achieve a minimum standard in English, maths or digital skills, the provider should make clear to them that they have not reached the minimum standard to be an FE teacher.

Trainees undertaking the LST apprenticeship will be required to complete any English and maths qualifications in line with the apprenticeship funding rules if they have not already. The Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills) has a pass at level 2 in both English and maths as an entry requirement.

Providers must ensure that trainees can communicate effectively in spoken and written English, both to fulfil their responsibilities as a teacher and to support their students to improve their English skills where required. They should be able to communicate clearly, verbally and in writing to:

• students
• parents and carers
• colleagues
• other professionals

Trainees should expect to receive feedback and support to improve where necessary.

FE teachers should be able to use mathematical concepts effectively. They will need to model confidence in maths to their students regardless of their chosen subject (or subjects). They will need to be able to understand, interpret and make effective use of student data, charts and tables as part of their role.

Where required (particularly when working with students aged 16 to 19), FE teachers should expect to integrate elements of the GCSE and functional skills subject content and other relevant stepping stone qualifications for English and maths into their lessons. They should be:

• able to complete simple calculations fluently
• able to work with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages
• familiar with a variety of methods and approaches to problem solving

Providers should take steps to ensure trainees have the appropriate digital skills and knowledge to teach effectively. In the absence of any relevant occupational qualifications or evidence, providers should ensure that trainees are able to demonstrate digital skills at level 1 as a minimum.

Providers may wish to refer to the essential digital skills framework. They should consider resources that support effective teaching.

Equality

To comply with the Equality Act 2010, providers should ensure that all selection and recruitment procedures do not discriminate against individuals with protected characteristics. This includes making reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

More generally, providers must comply with all relevant duties under the Equality Act 2010, such as the public sector equality duty.

As HE students, ITE trainees are eligible for support via Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), as well as reasonable adjustments for more specialist support, such as British Sign Language interpretation.

Applicants are not required to disclose any protected characteristics to a provider. It is a provider’s responsibility to ensure that their programme does not place any applicants at a disadvantage.

Staff wellbeing

We expect the principles outlined in the education staff wellbeing charter to apply to staff and trainees at providers of specified FE ITE courses, and their placement organisations.

We strongly encourage all college-based providers of FE ITE courses to become signatories to the charter, which covers:

• FE colleges
• sixth-form colleges
• independent specialist colleges
• dance and drama colleges
• independent learning providers
• local authority providers
• designated institutions
• employer providers
• HE institutions that provide FE or apprenticeships training up to and including level 5

Universities are free to make use of the principles and organisational commitments but cannot sign the charter.

Safe recruitment responsibilities

Teaching in FE takes place across a range of settings and groups, including those subject to legal protection through the statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding (‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE)) and the Care Act 2014. This will include:

• 14 to 16-year-olds in alternative provision
• 16 to 17-year-olds in government-funded colleges
• adults with specific needs

Where trainees are employed as a teacher, either through an apprenticeship or in-service ITE, their employer is responsible for making the relevant checks as set out in part 3 of KCSIE.

For pre-service ITE, where appropriate, providers should keep in mind statutory guidance, including KCSIE, when carrying out duties, including:

• checking suitability of trainees
• safeguarding
• promoting the welfare of young or vulnerable people

This includes obtaining an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records check with children’s barred list information. Providers should consider any disclosures from this process and decide whether this makes a trainee unsuitable to work with children.

Providers should confirm that a pre-service trainee’s checks have been completed and that the trainee is suitable to work with young people or vulnerable adults. This should be done in writing to the placement organisation.

Providers do not need to give any additional information beyond this confirmation. Placement organisations may wish to record this in their single central record under non-statutory information, but this is not a requirement.

Providers and, where appropriate, employers should ensure they receive references and employment information to confirm a trainee’s suitability. Trainees should not have a previous record of behaving in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children, young people or vulnerable adults.

Providers should be confident that a trainee:

• has not previously been removed from a training programme
• would not have been removed from a training programme by a previous provider had they not left

Where a placement provider considers allowing an individual to start work in regulated activity before the enhanced DBS certificate is available, they must ensure they are appropriately supervised in that activity and that all other checks have been completed.

In the case of employment-based routes, the responsibility lies with the employer to ensure that checks have been completed and to inform the provider of this. Employers should consider their duties under relevant safeguarding policies and funding agreements to carry out checks, including those in line with the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) guidance on misconduct.

Providers should establish clear safeguarding procedures that are agreed by all members of the partnership. This should include a common understanding of things that would not pose a barrier to joining a programme, including:

• convictions
• offences
• cautions
• warnings

All trainees should understand their responsibilities to safeguard children and vulnerable people. At the start of each placement, providers should ensure that all trainee teachers are supplied with:

• the child protection or vulnerable person policy
• the staff behaviour policy, sometimes called a code of conduct
• information about the role of the designated safeguarding lead, where appropriate
• a copy of KCSIE, where appropriate
• a copy of any other relevant statutory documentation

Providers should seek guidance from DBS if they:

• remove a trainee from a programme
• have concerns about a trainee
• consider there to be a risk of harm to a child, young person or vulnerable adult
• would have removed a trainee if they had not left a programme

DBS can be contacted at customerservice@dbs.gov.uk or on 03000 200 190.

1. The Learning and skills teacher occupational standard (revised in 2021; last updated 2025) and the Diploma in Teaching (FE and Skills) qualification framework (launched for academic year 2024 to 2025) marked a shift away from generic training programmes to those focused on the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be a subject specialist in an FE and skills context. ↩