The National Institute of Teaching and Education (the National Institute) has been re-accredited to provide Initial Teacher Training (ITT) following a rigorous government process.
Recent reforms to ITT required all providers to re-apply for accreditation – with the National Institute – part of the Coventry University Group - just one of around 80 (a third of applicants) to achieve approval in the first round.
Since launching as the National School of Education and Teaching in 2019, the National Institute, as it became in January this year, has attracted a large number of applications to its high-quality, flexible training model, which blends online learning with school-based practice.
It saw a 200% increase in enrolments between September 2020 and September 2021, with roughly three quarters of recruits over 25 years old and approximately two thirds of students from ethnic minority backgrounds. According to the DfE’s 2021/22 ITT census, just 21% of postgraduate trainees declared they belonged to a minority ethnic group.
Professor Geraint Jones, Executive Director, National Institute of Teaching and Education, said: “Re-accreditation of ITT providers is clearly under the spotlight, and we are pleased to have had our accreditation confirmed. The process has, rightly, been rigorous and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of our model.
“While quality is clearly paramount, we as a sector also need to focus on delivering flexible training models that will attract more teachers into the profession, while upskilling and inspiring those further into their careers. Only then will we begin to tackle the recruitment and retention issues that continue to be a challenge across education, and to deliver the truly world class offer our children deserve.”
Coventry University Group Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Latham, CBE, said: “We believe our teacher training provision is a key element of our goal to cater our education offering to meet the needs of our society. This re-accreditation is testament to the strength of our approach and is an endorsement of the hard work of everyone at NITE.
“NITE not only offers high quality training as well as continued professional training but also helps to address the issues that are preventing teachers from becoming fully qualified. We are proud that NITE can continue to play its part in addressing recruitment and retention issues currently being felt in the industry.”
Established in 2019, the National School of Education and Teaching rapidly became one of the country’s largest providers of Initial Teacher Training. It was awarded Institute status from the Government in late 2021 and is now known as the National Institute of Teaching and Education.
The National Institute entered the education scene to provide initial teacher training and extended support to teachers and educational leaders.
