Academic year 2018/19

Initial teacher training performance profiles

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  1. A correction was made to the Qualified Teacher Status Time Series table in the headline facts and figures section. The table previously showed QTS award percentages for all trainees but should have covered Postgraduate trainees only.

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Introduction

National and provider-level information about the outcomes for final year teacher trainees in England in the academic year 2018/19.  Outcome measures presented are the proportion of final year trainees that gained qualified teacher status, and the employment rates of these qualified teachers. The publication also includes information on the outcomes for assessment-only candidates and early years ITT trainees.

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Headline facts and figures - 2018/19

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About these statistics

The initial teacher training (ITT) performance profiles are designed to: 

•   provide transparent information on outcomes of trainee teachers to the public

•   help potential trainee teachers make informed choices about where to train

These statistics are based on final year trainees.  For comprehensive statistics about new entrants to ITT and their characteristics, please refer to the ITT Census publications, available on the ITT statistics webpage (opens in a new tab)

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

The following tables are included:

  • national tables for the academic year 2018 to 2019 by route, phase, subject, region and trainee characteristics (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes)
  • provider-level tables for the academic year 2018 to 2019 by route and phase (main postgraduate and undergraduate routes)
  • a national table up to the academic year 2018 to 2019 by subject (AO route)
  • a national table for the academic year 2018 to 2019 by route and trainee characteristics (EYITT route).

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 a number of 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 Teach First Leadership Development Programme and, since 2018/19, the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship (PGTA). Two non-mainstream routes, Early Years ITT and Assessment Only, are 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 a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). On school-led routes, trainees are placed in a school from the first day of training. Most school-led routes also include a PGCE as many school-led providers will pair with an HEI.

Overall QTS and employment rates of postgraduate final year trainees

Summary

  • There were 28,949 final year postgraduate trainee teachers in the 2018/19 academic year.
  • 26,402 (91%) of these were awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS); this proportion has remained stable in recent years ranging between 87% and 92% since academic year 2009/10.
  • By course year-end, 1,199 (4%) were yet to complete[1] and 1,348 (5%) were not awarded QTS.
  • Trainees without a first or upper second class degree on entry[2] were slightly more likely to be in the “yet to complete” category.
  • 93% of postgraduate trainees on a school-led route were awarded QTS compared to 89% on a Higher Education Institution (HEI) route.
  • There were also differences in the QTS rates across a series of trainee characteristics including age, gender, ethnicity, declared disability and degree class.
  • These patterns across routes and trainee characteristics are broadly similar to academic year 2017/18.
  • We provisionally[3] estimate that within sixteen months of qualification, 20,795 postgraduate trainees awarded QTS will be employed as a teacher in a state-funded school in England.  This represents 79% of those postgraduate trainees awarded QTS, down from 80% (revised[4]) in 2017/18.
  • Provisional employment rates were 83% for those on a school-led route compared to 74% for those on a Higher Education Institution (HEI) route, with the highest rates seen for those on the Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship[5], School Direct Salaried and Teach First routes.

 

Footnotes

[1] Some trainees in their expected final year of ITT may have not fully completed their course at the end of the academic year. Trainees who are yet to complete the course will go on to be awarded QTS or will complete without being awarded QTS in a later academic year.  

[2] Includes third class honours degrees, and ‘ordinary’ or ‘general’ degrees awarded after a non-honours course, and degrees awarded after a non-honours course that was not available to be classified. It also includes other categories from non-UK degrees.

[3] Provisional figures are estimated as it is too early in the reporting cycle to capture everyone who is employed in a state school. Revised figures will be calculated following collection of the November 2020 school workforce census data and will be published as part of the 2019/20 performance profiles publication; see the methodology section for further details.

[4] Revised figures for 2017/18 are calculated from more complete data using the November 2019 school workforce census; see the methodology section for further details.

[5] This is the first cohort of trainees on the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship route and it is relatively small (113 trainees) compared to other routes.

Trainee CharacteristicPercentage awarded QTSPercentage of those awarded QTS teaching in a state school
Female93%80%
Male87%77%
Minority ethnic group88%77%
Non-minority ethnic group92%79%
Disability declared84%75%
No disability declared92%79%
Under 2593%79%
Aged 25 and over90%78%
First degree94%81%
Upper second degree92%80%
Lower second degree88%77%

Footnotes

  1. Age: trainees aged 25 and over on 31 July 2019.
  2. Degree class relate to postgraduate ITT trainees only.
  3. "Upper second" degree class includes undivided second class.
  4. Percentage of those awarded QTS teaching in a state school: percentage of those with QTS provisionally estimated to be employed in a state-funded school in England within 16 months of qualification. See Methodology for further details.

Outcomes of postgraduate final year trainees by subject

QTS award rates vary by subject from 83% for Physics to 97% for Physical Education and Classics.

Provisional employment rates vary by subject from 57% for Classics (from these small numbers possibly more go into the independent sector) and 72% for Computing to 84% for English.

Outcomes of postgraduate final year trainees by region

QTS award rates vary across English regions, from 90% in the North West, West Midlands and the South West to 94% in the East of England.

Provisional employment rates are lowest in the North East (68%) and highest in the East of England (86%).

Outcomes of postgraduate final year trainees by degree class on entry

Summary

  • This section looks at the previous degrees obtained by trainees before entering ITT.
  • Postgraduate final year trainees were more likely to achieve QTS if they had a first class or upper second degree on entry[1].
  • Trainees without a first or upper second class degree on entry[2] were slightly more likely to be in the “yet to complete” category[3].
  • Provisional employment rates were highest for trainees who had a first class or upper second degree on entry (81% and 80%, respectively) compared to those with a lower degree class (77%).

 

Footnotes

[1] ‘Upper second’ includes undivided second class.

[2] Includes third class honours degrees, and ‘ordinary’ or ‘general’ degrees awarded after a non-honours course, and degrees awarded after a non-honours course that was not available to be classified. It also includes other categories from non-UK degrees.

[3] Some trainees in their expected final year of ITT may have not fully completed their course at the end of the academic year. Trainees who are yet to complete the course will go on to be awarded QTS or will complete without being awarded QTS in a later academic year.  

Outcomes of candidates undertaking Assessment Only (AO)

Summary

  • The number of Assessment Only (AO) candidates grew by 19% in academic year 2018/19 compared to the previous year, up from 1,271 to 1,515, and continuing recent trends.
  • There have been year on year increases in the number of candidates recorded as undertaking AO, with a three-fold increase between 2014/15 (when the collection first became mandatory) and 2018/19. Some of this increase could be a result of more complete recording over time.
  • 99% of AO candidates in 2018/19 achieved Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which is consistent across all recorded trainee characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity and declared disability).
  • This higher rate of QTS award for candidates undertaking AO compared to mainstream ITT candidates is likely to be because candidates should already be experienced teachers, or hold a teaching qualification from another country, who can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards without any further training.

Subject breakdown of AO candidates

47% of all AO candidates take primary assessments, which is similar to the mainstream ITT routes where primary makes up 44% of postgraduates for the same academic year.

The highest number of AO candidates in secondary subjects are for English (25%), mathematics (17%) and Physical Education (13%).

AO candidates’ previous qualifications

Compared to mainstream trainees, AO candidates are less likely to have obtained a first or upper second class in their first degree, 51% compared to 73%[1] of new entrants on mainstream postgraduate programmes in the 2018/19 ITT Census.

Background

Gaining QTS through AO is a way for existing unqualified teachers, support staff or teaching assistants to demonstrate that they already meet all the QTS standards, without the need for any further training. AO is open to those with relevant teaching experience who hold a degree, or for those with a teaching qualification from another country. Candidates undertaking AO do not complete a course to achieve QTS, but are instead assessed against the Teacher’s Standards and skills tests. The entry criteria for AO is the same as those for all initial teacher training (ITT) courses and must be met in full prior to registration. Only DfE-approved accredited providers of ITT can assess and recommend AO candidates for QTS. 

Typical candidates for AO might include:

  • unqualified teachers with experience in settings where QTS is not a requirement, for example independent schools, who wish to move into state-funded schools
  • unqualified teachers with significant teaching experience
  • teachers from overseas who wish to be awarded QTS in England[2]
  • higher level teaching assistants with the necessary qualifications and teaching experience

 

Footnotes

[1] Excludes those with unknown degree class

[2] Some qualified teachers from overseas can obtain professional recognition and the award of QTS without undertaking ITT or AO. This applies to fully qualified teachers who trained in the European Economic Area (EEA), under the terms of Council Directive 2005/36/EC. Teachers who trained outside the EEA must have their qualifications recognised by an EEA member state and must have 3 years of experience in that state to be eligible to apply for QTS in England without undertaking ITT or AO. Teachers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States can also apply for mutual recognition and must be fully qualified and eligible to teach permanently in the country in question. This must be documented from the recognised authority in that state. There is further information on the award of QTS on our webpage (opens in a new tab).

Outcomes of final year trainees undertaking early years initial teacher training (EYITT)

Summary

  • There were 398 final year postgraduate early years trainees in the 2018/19 academic year, of which 355 (89%)  were awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). 
  • This is a reduction in the number of postgraduate EYITT trainees and percentage awarded EYTS compared to 2017/18 (when 93% of the 528 postgraduate EYITT trainees were awarded EYTS).  This continues a decline in EYITT trainee numbers since mandatory reporting began in 2016/17.
  • There were also differences in the EYTS rates across a number of trainee characteristics (gender, ethnicity and declared disability), which broadly mirror the equivalent differences seen in mainstream ITT.  However, these comparisons should be treated with caution due to very small numbers of EYITT trainees in some of the groups (see the Chart).

Background

  • 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 years 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 publication.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

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

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Initial teacher training performance profiles statistics and data:

ITT Routes Analysis and Research team

Email: ittstatistics.publications@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Sarah Amis

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