Around 25 per cent of teacher training providers could be culled from the market following the conclusion of a controversial government shake-up of the initial teacher training (ITT) sector, Tes understands.
A total of 179 ITT providers have been approved to continue offering courses to trainees after 99 organisations passed the second and final reaccreditation round, Tes has learned.
The successful providers - set to be revealed by the government tomorrow - will now join the 80 providers awarded accreditation after round one in offering ongoing teacher training in England, and following a government shake-up of the sector.
This means that around 50 providers - roughly a quarter of the market - could be in the process of withdrawing ITT courses, exacerbating fears that the shake-up will lead to teacher training “cold spots” in some parts of the country.
However, some providers who have failed reaccreditation may continue if they enter into partnerships with approved organisations, Tes understands.
The Department for Education also said in June that there “may be future accreditation rounds if required”.
According to the ITT census for the 2021-22 academic year, there were 232 providers in England.
In May, Tes revealed that the proportion of providers who had passed the first round was just over a third.
Following concerns from the sector over teacher training cold spots caused by the government shake-up, Tes revealed that the DfE was planning to offer providers “more incentives” to form partnerships or consider acquisitions to cover the affected areas.
After the first round, the DfE was warned that ITT provider “deserts” could lead to the loss of hundreds of teacher trainee places, potentially adding even greater pressure during a worsening teacher recruitment crisis.
And while more providers have been successful at round two than was feared, there will still be concerns over the possibility of teacher training cold spots in some regions across the country.
Tes analysis after round one of the reaccreditation process revealed that trainee places in the West and East Midlands, as well as the North East of England, could be most at risk.
Last month, Tes revealed that the government is setting up a task force in a bid to boost ITT providers’ interest in expansion and creating partnerships.
The DfE market review of the sector initially proposed that all teacher training providers should have been reaccredited by this September but the timeline was pushed back after the deadline for the first round of reaccreditation applications was extended.
The deadline for the second round of reaccreditation was in June of this year, with the list of successful providers set to be revealed in full tomorrow.
