Renewed calls for changes to ITT recruitment policy

The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) has released findings of its latest Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Insights Survey, which captures the voices and experiences of 45 school-based ITT providers – including 34 secondary school-centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programmes – who responded to open-ended questions in April and May 2025.

This latest survey has informed NASBTT’s recent engagements with education policy and lead to fresh calls to implement asks in its manifesto.

In May, the association submitted evidence to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry on Increasing Teacher Numbers: Secondary and Further Education. It also contributed to the Teaching Commission, led by Baroness Professor Mary Bousted.

The survey responses follow an busy year for NASBTT in influencing national policy. In November 2024, the Autumn Term ITT Insights survey informed the association’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review Call for Evidence, while the Spring 2025 consultation on Improving the Way Ofsted Inspects Education saw further representation of the school-based ITT sector’s views.

Among NASBTT’s core proposals are for Government to reduce top-down accountability and enable the sector to self-regulate within a cross-party 10-year strategic plan, as well as to fully fund teacher training.

“Thank you to all our responding members for their contributions to our Spring Term ITT Insights Survey,” Emma said. “Whilst these surveys tend to focus on securing quantitative insights, the questions we asked this time were informed by our needs around responding specifically to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry and giving evidence to the Teaching Commission. In both of these, we have continued to push the asks in our manifesto.
 
“Our recommendations include committing to a long-term plan and restoring autonomy, so for Government to reduce top-down accountability and enable the sector to self-regulate within a cross-party 10-year strategic plan. Also to fully fund teacher training. Making teacher training free to access would send a powerful message about the value we place on the profession, increasing both interest and quality, and strengthening the teacher workforce for the long term.”