Correspondence

Teacher Recruitment Bulletin: July 2018

Updated 5 November 2018

Welcome to the July 2018 edition of the Teacher Recruitment Bulletin, which contains vital information to support your initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment. Your colleagues can subscribe by emailing teacher.recruitmentbulletin@education.gov.uk.

1. New search service for postgraduate initial teacher training courses

The Department for Education (DfE) is currently working on a new search service, which is split into two functions to:

• search and find postgraduate teacher training courses - from October 2018, the new service will be available to all potential postgraduate applicants, for all primary and secondary courses in England

• publish teacher training courses - this is a tool for ITT providers, lead schools and SCITTs to manage the information available on their courses, making it easier for applicants to find the right course for them

We continue to work closely with UCAS, which means there will be a period of transition between the current UCAS arrangements and the new DfE service.

UCAS will begin their on-boarding activities during July 2018 and will contact all ITT providers, lead schools and SCITTs that are committed to delivering initial teacher training for 2019 to 2020.

We contacted all of those who will be delivering initial teacher training in 2019 to 2020 on 4 July 2018, and provided guidance on how to start preparing course content for the new service.

2. Recruitment and retention strategy – sign up for an event near you

Over the summer term, we will be holding events across the country to share some of the things we’ve learnt, about what’s worked and what hasn’t, and to hear your ideas. We want to find out more about:

• the recruitment and retention challenges you have experienced
• what your school or trust is doing to tackle some of these issues
• the things that you know work
• your ideas for other solutions which we should consider

Events will include workshops and discussions where you will be able to provide direct input to policy development. All events take place 4.30pm to 6.30pm, locations are listed below.

2.1 Thursday 5 July 2018

• Wade Deacon High School, Widnes, Cheshire
• George Spencer Academy, Stapleford, Nottingham
• Whitehouse Primary School, Milton Keynes
• Exeter Maths School, Exeter

2.2 Tuesday 10 July 2018

• Churchill Community College, Wallsend
• Durrington High School, Worthing
• The Fallibroome Trust, Macclesfield

2.3 Wednesday 11 July 2018

• Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, Smethwick
• Harris Academy Battersea, London
• Thomas Gainsborough School, Sudbury

2.4 Thursday 12 July 2018

• Institute of Education at Adwick Academy

To attend an event near you, register at Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy: Summer Term Events.

3. Postgraduate teaching apprenticeship webinar Friday 6 July 2018

The postgraduate teaching apprenticeship team invites you to attend a webinar on Friday 6 July at 10.30am.

The team will cover all aspects of the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship from the apprenticeship service account and levy, to the award of QTS and the end-point assessment.

To register, please visit apprenticeships for the school workforce.

4. Postgraduate teaching apprenticeship guidance – for non-levy paying schools

Non-levy paying schools are able to offer the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship, although the process and funding differs slightly.

Non-levy paying schools can only partner with providers approved to deliver training to non-levy paying employers. The school must contact the provider directly and discuss the training and assessment criteria and costs.

Non-levy paying schools are required to pay 10% of the overall cost of each apprentice, and the government will pay the remaining 90% directly to the provider on a monthly basis. The teaching apprenticeship’s funding band maximum is £9,000, which is for the training and assessment of the apprentice; the non-levy paying school pays £900 per apprentice and the government pays £8,100 per apprentice.

For further information, please visit apprenticeship funding: how it works.

5. Teacher subject specialism training (TSST) courses for 2018 to 2019

TSST is designed to improve the subject knowledge of non-specialist teachers and returning teachers. It is available to non-specialist teachers who are currently teaching, or who want to teach:

• secondary maths
• core maths
• physics
• French
• German
• Spanish

As well as improving subject knowledge, it can help boost teacher confidence and improve classroom skills.

In July 2018, we will be confirming courses for the academic year 2018 to 2019.

Please look out for further information at teacher subject specialism training courses.

6. Modern foreign languages teachers available for September 2018

Secondary schools in England can access our pool of modern foreign languages teachers from Spain. Recruitment is free; the only cost to your school is the teacher’s salary.

Teachers have been rigorously assessed and interviewed by head teachers from English schools and have qualified teacher status (QTS); they also receive an acclimatisation package that covers:

• video webinars introducing teaching in the UK
• training on the English curriculum
• classroom management
• termly continuing professional development workshops
• online courses
• 5 day residential training programme

An in-school mentor, supported by the DfE, will be required to provide day-to-day support for each teacher.

To register for a Spanish teacher, please visit Spain’s Visiting Teachers programme.

7. Help your colleagues stay informed during UK withdrawal from the EU

Since April 2018, EU citizens in the UK may have seen digital adverts helping EU citizens to ‘stay informed’. Adverts point towards official sources of information on GOV.UK covering how the UK’s withdrawal from the EU affects EU citizens.

If you’re recruiting teachers from the EU or have colleagues from the EU, you may wish to share this information.

For further information, please visit Status of EU citizens in the UK: what you need to know or the main campaign page at EU citizens in the UK Stay Informed.

We have also drafted an EU email template for use with external partners containing additional links to this helpful information, which we urge you to share with your stakeholders.

8. Current ITT data management system QTS award for (non-HESA) trainees completing 2017 to 2018 courses

To prepare for the transition of data from the current initial teacher training data management system (ITTDMS) to the new database of teacher trainees and providers (DTTP), we encourage all providers to recommend their trainees for QTS award (or EYTS for early years trainees) on the current DMS for non-HESA records before 31 July 2018.

This request applies to all SCITTs, Teach First, Assessment Only (AO) and early years providers, and will enable ITTDMS to populate QTS (or EYTS) award dates before we freeze the data for migration to the new DTTP.

Please note, that if you recommend QTS (or EYTS) via the ITTDMS after 31 July 2018 you may be required to repeat this process in the new DTTP.

For response to queries, please email itt.datamanagement@education.gov.uk.

9. New database of trainee teachers and providers – training dates announced

The new database of trainee teachers and providers (DTTP) will shortly replace the current initial teacher training data management system (ITTDMS).

We will be running a series of workshops on how to use the new database; registration emails have been sent from Eventbrite to all existing ITTDMS data contacts and responsible officers.

Events run from 10am to 1pm or from 2pm to 5pm, locations are listed below:

• Sheffield, Monday 16 July 2018
• Sheffield, Tuesday 17 July 2018
• Coventry, Wednesday 18 July 2018
• London, Monday 23 July 2018
• London, Tuesday 24 July 2018
• London, Wednesday 25 July 2018
• Taunton, Friday 27 July 2018

Please note that in the first instance places are limited to one registrant per organisation. If places become available, we will contact you.

If you are the ITTDMS data contact and have not received an invite, please email itt.datamanagement@education.gov.uk.

10. Assessment only (AO) route to QTS – provider requirements

The assessment only (AO) route to QTS is inspected by Ofsted as part of its inspection of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes, and outcomes are published in Ofsted reports. We would like to remind AO route providers of the entry criteria; non-compliance places the ITT accreditation of the provider at risk of withdrawal.

Candidates must demonstrate experience of teaching across the specified age range, and must be able to demonstrate that they have met all the standards for QTS across this age range.

This route is intended for very experienced graduate teachers without QTS, who can demonstrate meeting all the standards for QTS without the need for further training. Typically, only candidates with over 2 years’ of teaching experience in schools, as an unqualified teacher would be suitable for recruitment to the AO route.

To view the criteria please visit assessment only route to QTS: provider information.

For further information please email itt.accreditation@education.gov.uk.

11. UCAS summer recruitment pilot – closes 28 September 2018

The UCAS Teacher Training recruitment pilot started on 1 July 2018 and closes on Friday 28 September at 6pm.

The summer pilot means the time training providers have to make decisions on applications reduces from 40 to 20 working days; applicants still have 10 working days to accept an offer.

Applications received up to and including 30 June 2018 still have 40 working days’ consideration.

To make sure you are prepared, please refer to the pilot FAQs.

For further information, please email hep_team@ucas.ac.uk.

12. UCAS Teacher Training blog

The UCAS Teacher Training blog features advice from current trainees, newly qualified and experienced teachers, teacher mentors and tutors. UCAS regularly shares these posts on their social media channels and in student-facing communications.

If you have advice you would like to share in a blog post, or have trainees with inight they would like to share, please email socialmedia@ucas.ac.uk to become a guest blogger.

If you wish to stop receiving this bulletin, you can unsubscribe by emailing teacher.recruitmentbulletin@education.gov.uk.

See previous issues on of this bulletin.