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 2023/24 this was Wednesday 11 October 2023.
This statistical release presents detailed provisional data for 2023/24 and revised data for 2022/23.
For 2023/24 we received data from 210 providers in England comprising 142 School Centred ITTs and 68 HEIs. The final data was extracted on 21st November 2023.
Since 2021/22, the ITT Census publication has been produced using data extracted from the Register Trainee Teachers service. 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 data from 2021/22 onwards 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:
2022/23 revised 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.
2023/24 revised data:
Due to a technical issue with the import of ethnicity and disability information into Register, disability and ethnicity data for EYITT trainees for 2023/24 includes a significantly larger proportion of unknowns than past years. This data will be published once the issue has been fixed. EYITT disability and ethnicity data is therefore currently unavailable for 2023/24 but available for all other years.
For three providers, the breakdowns of trainees by sex showed a dramatically increased number of trainees recorded as other sex. As these numbers were without precedent, the decision was made to recode these trainees to unknown sex. Trainees of other sex from all other providers were unaffected. There will therefore be a greater number of trainees with unknown sex in this year’s data. We are investigating this issue further with the providers.
Self-funded trainees
We exclude from this release trainees that the provider has indicated are not eligible for UK financial support and, for historic data, where they do not have a DfE allocated place. This includes overseas trainees not entitled to UK financial support; trainees on the School Direct salaried route undertaking a non-DfE-funded subject and/or employed at an independent school; or in situations when a School Direct Salaried trainee is undertaking a subject that would not normally be funded by DfE, but the provider is funding the trainee themselves.
In 2022/23, 968 self-funded trainees were excluded. Of these, 546 were UK nationals, 46 were EEA nationals, 301 were nationals of other countries, and 75 were of unknown nationality. Broken down by route, 710 were HEI-led postgraduate, 147 Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship, 73 School Direct (salaried), 21 undergraduate, and 17 School Direct (fee-funded).
In 2023/24, 1299 self-funded trainees were excluded. Of these, 700 were UK nationals, 87 were EEA nationals, 453 were nationals of other countries, and 59 were of unknown nationality. Broken down by route, 813 were HEI-led postgraduate, 365 Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship, 74 School Direct (salaried), 31 undergraduate, and 16 School Direct (fee-funded).
Teacher Workforce Model (TWM)
For entrants starting in 2021/22 onwards, the department’s annual postgraduate ITT targets (PGITT) have been chosen using analysis from the 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.