Academic year 2022/23

Initial Teacher Training Census

This is the latest dataOfficial statistics

• Published: 1 December 2022
• Next update: December 2023
• Last updated: 7 December 2022
  See all updates (3)

  1. 7 December 2022

     Amendment made to chart showing performance against postgraduate ITT target by subject

  2. 5 December 2022

     Spelling mistake corrected in footnote.

  3. 1 December 2022

     Re-publishing to fix some technical issues

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National and provider-level information about the numbers and characteristics of new entrants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England in the training year 2022/23; and 2022/23 PGITT targets. The statistical release also includes information on numbers and characteristics of new entrants to early years ITT. 

Read statistical summaries, view charts and tables, and download data files. 

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Headline facts and figures - 2022/23

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Additional supporting files

All supporting files from this release are listed for individual download below:

• ITT Census 2022/23 Provider Tables (xlsx, 1 Mb)

  Table 10: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by trainee characteristics. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23 (2022/23 data is provisional, all previous years are revised). Table 11: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by ITT route. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23 (2022/23 data is provisional, all previous years are revised). Table 12: This provider level table contains the number of both postgraduate and undergraduate new entrants to ITT at provider level by ITT subject. The data in this table covers academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23 (2022/23 data is provisional, all previous years are revised).

About these statistics

This statistical release provides provisional figures on the number of new entrants who have started an initial teacher training (ITT) programme in England in 2022/23 by school subject, training route, training region and a range of trainee demographic factors. This statistical release includes revised data for 2021/22.

These statistics cover those training to teach via both postgraduate and undergraduate routes, as well as a separate section on those undertaking Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT).

The following tables are included:

• national tables for the training years 2019/20 to 2022/23 by route, phase, subject, region and trainee characteristics (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes)
• provider-level tables for the training years 2019/20 to 2022/23 by route and phase (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes)
• a national table for the training years 2019/20 to 2022/23 by route and trainee characteristics (EYITT route).

The number of new entrants who have started postgraduate ITT is compared to the Department’s annual postgraduate ITT trainee targets. PGITT targets are selected using analysis from the Teacher Workforce Model  (TWM)[1].

This year the ITT Census publication was produced using data extracted from the Register Trainee Teachers service for the first time. This is a move from the previous data source, DTTP (Database of Teacher Training Providers) but still includes data collected in the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) ITT collection. Please see methodology for further detail. 

Footnotes

[1] Postgraduate initial teacher training targets, Academic Year 2022/23 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)

Background on mainstream initial teacher training

To become a qualified teacher in England, trainees typically complete a programme of Initial Teacher Training (ITT). This provides them with training, mentoring and teaching practice in schools, and leads to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for successful trainees.

There are several pathways into teaching which include an undergraduate route, over a three or four-year course, and postgraduate routes which normally run for one year full-time. Postgraduate fee-funded courses can be undertaken through a higher education institution (HEI), or via a group of schools delivering a school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) programme or a School Direct fee-funded programme. Postgraduate salaried routes include the School Direct salaried programme, the High Potential ITT programme (HPITT) and, since 2018/19, the Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA). Early Years ITT, a non-mainstream route, is covered in separate sections below.

At HEIs, the university or college delivers the pedagogy of teaching supplemented by placements in schools. Successful trainees are awarded QTS and, either a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE) or professional graduate certificate in education. On school-led routes, trainees are placed in a school from the beginning of their training. Most school-led routes also include a PGCE as many school-led providers will partner with an HEI.

New entrants to postgraduate initial teacher training by subject

Summary

In 2022/23 we have seen 23,224 new entrants to postgraduate ITT, this is 71% of the postgraduate ITT target of 32,600 new entrants, down from 97% of target in 2021/22. 

Secondary

• In 2022/23, 59% of the overall secondary PGITT target was achieved (12,356 new entrants), down from 79% in 2021/22 (15,983 new entrants).
• ITT providers recruited 4,058 postgraduate trainees in secondary STEM[1] subjects (representing 54% of the 2022/23 PGITT STEM target). 
• For individual STEM subjects, performance against the targets varied: for mathematics 90% of the target of 2,040 trainees was achieved (1,844 new entrants); for chemistry 86% of the target of 885 trainees was achieved (758 new entrants); for biology 85% of the target of 780 trainees was achieved (664 new entrants); for computing 30% of the target of 1,145 trainees was achieved (348 new entrants) and for physics 17% of the target of 2,610 trainees was achieved (444 new entrants). 
• ITT providers recruited 8,394 postgraduate trainees in secondary EBacc subjects (representing 62% of the 2022/23 PGITT EBacc target) and 3,962 postgraduate trainees in secondary non-EBacc subjects.
• PGITT targets were exceeded for Classics[2] (193%), Drama (113%), History (133%) and Physical Education (143%).
• The largest changes in reported performance against PGITT targets between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 training years, have been seen for History (133% of target recruited in 2022/23 compared to 193% of target recruited in 2021/22), Art and Design (90% in 2022/23 compared to 134% in 2021/22), Computing (30% in 2022/23 compared to 66% in 2021/22), English (84% in 2022/23 compared to 114% in 2021/22) and Modern Foreign Languages (34% in 2022/23 compared to 69% in 2021/22). These changes reflect changes in targets as well as changes in the number of new entrants.
• Numbers of new entrants have increased this year in Design and Technology (up from 334 in 2021/22 to 450 this year) and Geography (624 to 656). Both of these subjects reintroduced a bursary for the 2022/23 training year[3].

Primary

• For primary, recruitment performance against the PGITT target decreased from 131% in 2021/22 (14,110 new entrants) to 93% in 2022/23 (10,868 new entrants).

Footnotes

[1]  STEM here includes biology, chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics.

[2] Note: the sample size for Classics is small and therefore findings should be treated with caution

[3] Further details on bursary subjects, amounts and eligibility can be found here.

New entrants to ITT by routes into teaching

Summary

• In 2022/23, there were a total of 12,946 postgraduate new entrants on school-led routes[1], making up 56% of the postgraduate total, the same as last year. The number of school-led entrants saw a 23% decrease compared to 2021/22.
• The number training via a Higher Education Institution (HEI) decreased to 10,278, making up the remaining 44%. The number of HEI new entrants saw a 22% decrease compared to 2021/22.
• The School Centred ITT and HPITT routes were the most stable with a 7% decrease in new entrants respectively compared to 2021/22. School Direct (fee-funded) had the largest change (a 36% decrease) in new entrant trainees compared to 2021/22 followed by HEIs with a 20% decrease compared to 2021/22. 
• There were 5,767 new entrants to undergraduate ITT, a decrease of 5% from 6,066 in 2021/22.

Footnotes

[1] School-led routes are HPITT, SCITTs, School Direct (salaried) and School Direct (fee-funded).

New entrants to postgraduate ITT by characteristics

Summary

• In 2022/23, 28% of new entrants with known sex [1] are male and 72% are female, unchanged since 2021/22. For primary, 16% of postgraduate trainees are male, unchanged from 2021/22 but down from 22% in 2015/16. For secondary, 39% of postgraduate trainees are male - this has been relatively stable at between 38% and 40% since 2015/16.
• The proportion of postgraduate trainees aged under 25 is 53%, an increase of around 1 percentage point compared to 2021/22.
• Of postgraduate trainees who declared their ethnic group, there were 78% White, 12% Asian, 5% Black, 4% mixed ethnicity and 2% Other[2] new entrants[3]. These are broadly similar proportions to 2021/22 and 2020/21. In 2022/23 white trainees decreased by 2 percentage points and Asian, Black and mixed trainees increased by 1 percentage point. This compares with approximately 82%, 9%, 4% 3%, and 2%, of the population respectively, belonging to these ethnic groups in England and Wales (Census 2021)[4].
• In 2022/23, 1% of all postgraduate trainees (236 trainees) were on a part-time ITT route. Of those 236 trainees, the highest proportions are undertaking SCITT (35%) and HEI routes (33%). 

Footnotes

[1] Sex was previously reported as gender. This has been updated as it was previously mislabelled. For 2021/22 and 2022/23, trainees who chose not to provide data on sex have been included in an 'unknown' category.

[2] Other ethnicity includes Arab and Other ethnic background.

[3] When considering this change it should be noted that a greater number of new entrants reported their ethnicity in the 2022/23 data (97%) compared to the 2021/22 data (90%).

[4] https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest

Characteristics of postgraduate entrants to ITT for 2022/23

		Total postgraduate new entrants to ITT
Age group	Under 25	12,281
	25 and over	10,943
Sex	Male	6,471
	Female	16,406
Study Mode	Full-Time	22,988
	Part-Time	236

Footnotes

1. Data was extracted on 14 November 2022.
2. Figures for 2022/23 are provisional and are subject to change. Figures for 2021/22 and all previous years have been revised.
3. Troops to Teachers are excluded from all figures before 2021/22.
4. Full time: Includes a small number of trainees on abridged courses. Abridged courses are intensive full-time courses allowing trainees to achieve qualified teacher status in a shorter timeframe, typically two terms.
5. Age groups: are based on the ages of new entrants on the day of the census, 12 October 2022. Ages are rounded down to the nearest year, for example, a trainee aged 29.5 is placed in the 25-29 age group.
6. Breakdown of ITT new entrant data by disability, for both 2022/23 and revised 2021/22 figures will be published after this initial publication. This is due to issues with the quality of the data. We will be updating the publication to include disability status data once the issue is rectified.

New entrants to postgraduate ITT by nationality

Summary

• In 2022/23, there were 22,083 postgraduate new entrants to ITT whose nationality was known (95% of all postgraduate new entrants). Of these, 92% were UK nationals, 5% were European Economic Area (EEA) nationals[1], and the remaining 2% were nationals of other countries. These proportions are broadly in line with data in 2021/22, with a slight decrease in the proportion of UK nationals, down from 93% in 2021/22, and a slight increase in the proportion of EEA nationals, up from 4% in 2021/22.
• The proportion of postgraduate trainees who are UK nationals is lower for EBacc subjects than non-EBacc subjects and this is mostly driven by modern foreign languages where 62% of trainees are UK nationals (a decrease from 2021/22 where 67% of modern foreign languages trainees were UK nationals) and 31% are EEA nationals (compared to 28% EEA nationals in 2021/22).
• As well as trainee teachers from overseas, qualified teachers from specific overseas countries can be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) with no further ITT in England. Figures for these teachers are now published separately as management information in the Teacher Regulation Agency annual report and accounts[2]. 

Footnotes

[1] EEA National: here relates to individuals with a European Union, European Economic Area or included in the single market – this includes Swiss nationality. The UK is not included in these figures.

[2] Teacher Regulation Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2021-2022 (page 16 and Annex A): TRA Annual Report 2021-22 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

New entrants to postgraduate ITT by degree class on entry

Summary

• The percentage of new entrants to postgraduate programmes with a first class or 2:1 in their first degree has decreased from 78% in 2021/22 to 75% in 2022/23. This decrease in the latest year has been driven by a decrease in both the percentage of new entrants with a first (26% in 2021/22 to 24% in 2022/23) and in the percentage of new entrants with a 2:1 (52% in 2021/22, 51% in 2022/23).
• The proportion of entrants holding a 2:1 or higher varies by route. In particular, 93% of HPITT trainees had a 2:1 or higher, compared to a range of 71% (SD fee-funded and PGTA) to 75% for HEIs.

New entrants to postgraduate ITT by region

Summary

• In 2022/23, the number of postgraduate new entrants to ITT dropped across all regions. 
• The smallest change was observed in London (a 17% decrease on new entrant trainees compared to 2021/22), followed by the North West and East Midlands (a 20% decrease ).
• The South East had the greatest decrease in new entrants (31% fewer new entrants than 2021/22[1]). 

Footnotes

[1] Some of this decrease is due to a significant decrease in trainees reported by a particular provider in the South East. If this provider were excluded from 2021/22 and 2022/23 data, there would be a 27% decrease in the South East this year, the joint largest decrease along with the Yorkshire and Humber. Data for this provider will be investigated further -see the methodology document for more information.

Background on early years initial teacher training (EYITT)

Early years initial teacher training (EYITT) provides specialist training covering the education and care of children from birth to the age of five and is distinct from primary education. Training is delivered by accredited ITT providers[1].

Successful EYITT trainees are awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). They are not eligible for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and are therefore not qualified to lead classes in a maintained[2] nursery or school, unless they also hold QTS[3]. Early years teachers can lead teaching in all other early year’s settings in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector. 

There are several routes leading to the award of EYTS. Trainees can undertake an undergraduate course, which allows them to earn a degree in an early childhood related subject and EYTS, normally over a three-year period full-time. Postgraduate EYITT courses can be undertaken through the graduate entry route (full time study, which includes the early years School Direct route) or the graduate employment-based route (a one-year part-time route for graduates working in an early years setting[4]). Postgraduate EYITT normally runs for one year full-time. 

Footnotes

[1] Providers graded by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) as ‘requires improvement’, or a lower quality, cannot provide EYITT.

[2] ‘Maintained’ refers to schools or nurseries where funding and oversight is provided through the local authority.

[3] Trainees with EYTS can work as level 3 support workers in a maintained nursery or school. They can work as unqualified teachers in maintained schools or academies, but this status is dependent on the school.

[4] Trainees can also undertake an assessment only route to earn EYTS. This is designed for graduates with experience of working with children from birth to five, who are able to demonstrate the Teacher’s Standards (Early Years) without further training; for example, overseas trained early years teachers. The EYITT assessment only route is not included in this statistical release.

New entrants to early years initial teacher training (EYITT)

Summary

• There were 534 new entrants to EYITT in 2022/23. This is a 17% increase in new entrants compared to 2021/2022 when the figure was 458.
• In 2022/23, 99% of new entrants to EYITT took the postgraduate route, which is a 2 percentage point increase on 2021/22 revised data (97%).
• Excluding those whose degree class is unknown[1], 60% of 2022/23 new entrants to postgraduate EYITT held a first class or 2:1 degree, compared to 70% in 2021/22.
• Of postgraduate EYITT trainees who declared their ethnic group, there were 86% White, 8% Asian, 3% Black, 1% mixed ethnicity and 1% Other[2] new entrants.

Footnotes

[1] 41 trainees had degree class recorded as ’Unknown’ in 2022/23, compared with 44 trainees in 2021/22.

[2] Other ethnicity includes Arab and Other ethnic background.

Characteristics of postgraduate new entrants to early years initial teacher training, 2021/22 (revised) and 2022/23 (provisional)

		2021/22	2022/23
Age Group	Aged under 25 percentage	26%	24%
	Aged 25 and over percentage	74%	76%
Disability Status	Disability declared percentage	9%	x
	No disability declared percentage	91%	x
Sex	Female percentage	96%	95%
	Male percentage	3%	3%
	Other sex percentage	0%	0%
Ethnic Group	Asian ethnicity percentage	9%	8%
	Black ethnicity percentage	4%	3%
	Mixed ethnicity percentage	3%	1%
	Other ethnicity percentage	1%	1%
	White ethnicity percentage	83%	86%

Footnotes

1. Data was extracted on 14 November 2022.
2. Figures for 2022/23 are provisional and are subject to change. Figures for 2021/22 and all previous years have been revised.
3. Troops to Teachers are excluded from all figures before 2021/22.
4. Warning: percentages have been rounded and therefore may not sum to 100%.
5. Age groups: are based on the ages of new entrants on the day of the census, 12 October 2022. Ages are rounded down to the nearest year, for example, a trainee aged 29.5 is placed in the 25-29 age group.
6. Disability Status: Data is based on known cases and exclude those where disability status is unknown, therefore please consider the impact of the number of unknowns when considering data trends.
7. Ethnicity: Data is based on known cases and exclude those where ethnicity is unknown or not declared, therefore please consider the impact of the number of unknowns when considering data trends.
8. Asian ethnic group includes Chinese.
9. Other ethnicity includes Arab and Other ethnic background.
10. Breakdown of ITT new entrant data by disability, for both 2022/23 and revised 2021/22 figures will be published after this initial publication. This is due to issues with the quality of the data. We will be updating the publication to include disability status data once the issue is rectified.
11. it should be noted that a greater number of new entrants reported their ethnicity in the 2022/23 data (97%) compared to the 2021/22 data (90%).
12. Percentages exclude trainees where information was not supplied, or where characteristics were reported as ‘unknown’.

2022/23 year specific methodology

Data Collection 

The initial teacher training (ITT) census is collected annually and counts trainees registered on a course on the second Wednesday in October. For 2022/23 this was Wednesday 12 October 2022.

This statistical release presents detailed provisional data for 2022/23 and revised data for 2021/22.

For 2022/23 we received data from 226 providers in England comprising 155 School Centred ITTs and 71 HEIs. The final data was extracted on 14th November 2021. 

This year the ITT Census publication was produced using data extracted from the Register Trainee Teachers service for the first time. This is a move from the previous data source, DTTP (Database of Teacher Training Providers) but still includes data collected in the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) ITT collection. To improve data quality, small changes have been made to some variables and the removal of variables which were no longer essential. We have endeavoured to ensure the impact of the changes is as minimal as possible, but as with any change in data source, comparisons between 2021/22 revised and previous years should be treated with some caution.

Quality assurance 

Data for the ITT census were completed, reviewed and signed-off by providers. The data collection and publication team within DfE carried out additional quality checks and data validations throughout the data entry process. After the data was extracted, the production team undertook a further quality assurance process to recode and correct some of the data.

This quality assurance process identified a small number of issues. These, along with the solutions that have been implemented, are outlined below:

All data

• A large number of duplicate trainees were identified and removed during the quality assurance process. Data were then validated and signed-off by the production team.
• One provider has submitted data which appears inconsistent with previous years. Further checks are being undertaken to verify the data and revised data will be released if there are found to be issues. 

2021/22 revised data:

• In the previous data source, DTTP, data was collected on whether a trainee had a place allocated. This was used along with other data, to identify and remove self-funded trainees. Data on allocated places is no longer collected in Register. However, to maintain consistency in approach between the provisional and revised 2021/22 data methodologies, the data collected previously via DDTP on allocated places has continued to be used to determine self-funded trainees in 2021/22. Data for 2022/23 is based on Register data only and does not therefore use information on allocated places in identifying self-funded trainees.
• This year there have been larger revisions than usual to trainee numbers.  This is likely due in part to the change in data source. Where large differences existed, these were investigated and verified by the publication team.
• Where a trainee was marked as deferred but had a QTS award date in Register, the trainee state was verified against the award status in the Database for Qualified Teachers to ensure trainees were not incorrectly excluded due to referrals.

2022/23 provisional data:

• Due to a technical issue with the mapping of disability information into Register, disability data for 2022/23 includes a significantly larger proportion of unknowns than past years.  As the issue is impacting some disability categories more than others, the decision has been made to publish this data once the issue has been fixed. Disability data is therefore currently unavailable for 2022/23 but available for all other years. 

Characteristic breakdowns (i.e. sex, nationality, ethnicity, and degree class) for biology, chemistry and physics trainees was not available for one provider. Therefore, there will be a greater number of trainees in these subjects with unknown characteristics.   This information will be available upon revision of the data.

Teacher Workforce Model (TWM) 

For entrants starting in 2021/22, the department’s annual postgraduate ITT targets (PGITT) have been chosen, for the first time, using analysis from the newly developed Teacher Workforce Model (TWM). The TWM replaces the previously used Teacher Supply Model (TSM). The TWM considers both recruitment and retention alongside estimates of teacher demand.  For more information please see the latest publication here.

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• Initial Teacher Training Census

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Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

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