Aspiring teachers will benefit from a simpler application
process to get into teaching following the launch of a
brand-new service.
Designed to better meet the needs of potential trainees
applying for teacher training, it will ensure universities
and schools can make the best decisions on matching
applicants with teacher training courses.
The government signalled its determination to attract the
best talent into teaching and recognise the great work of
hardworking teachers by raising teachers’ starting salaries
to £30,000 – among the most competitive in the graduate
labour market.
The South-West will be first to benefit from the pilot,
before it is rolled out across England to fully replace the
existing UCAS service from October 2021. Universities
providing teacher training will also be able to join the
pilot from October 2020.
School Standards Minister said:
There’s never been a better time to become a teacher –
this year we have announced a 2.75% pay rise for
teachers, alongside outlining plans for starting salaries
to rise to £30,000 by 2022-23.
We are removing the barriers that can deter some people
who could be excellent teachers from applying and that
includes making the application process simpler, more
straightforward and intuitive. This new service does just
that.
In the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy,
published in January 2019, the Government committed to help
great people become teachers by introducing a new
application system for initial postgraduate teacher
training.
The service will be easier to use for both candidates and
training providers and is fully integrated with Find
Postgraduate Teacher Training.
James Noble-Rodgers, Executive Director of the Universities
Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and Emma
Hollis, Executive Director of the National Association of
School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) said:
As representative bodies for providers of teacher
training, we are very supportive of the work the
Department for Education is doing to simplify and
modernise the service for candidates and providers, and
have been working closely with the team to help shape
Apply for Teacher Training.
We are pleased that our members are working with the
Department for Education to test the service, with some
SCITTs receiving applications through Apply for Teacher
Training already, and universities signing up to start
piloting from October this year. We look forward to
continuing to work closely with the Department for
Education to support this important work.
Hester Hodgson, Senior Teaching Schools Administrator at
Gorse School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) said:
At Gorse SCITT, we are delighted to be one of the
providers taking part in the pilot for DfE Apply.
We are passionate about improving the application journey
for candidates, so we jumped at the chance to test this
new service. It’s great seeing candidates coming through,
and we’re looking forward to continuing work with the
Department for Education to shape the new Apply service.
Providers interested in the pilot can find out more here:
https://www.apply-for-teacher-training.education.gov.uk/provider
