Initial Teacher Training Placement Capacity in English Schools: Independent Analysis for MillionPlus

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 caused unprecedented challenges for society, the economy and also for education systems. Two major impacts on the initial teacher training (ITT) system were the reduction in school-based teacher training places and the increase in ITT applications. In order to allow ITT providers additional flexibility to make the placement capacity that schools were offering cover more trainees, the Department for Education (DfE) relaxed the ITT requirements. However, the squeeze on placement capacity has highlighted a vulnerability that could continue to impact the ITT sector. There remains a lack of high quality data on the extent to which schools offer training placements, how many, and what factors explain why schools do and do not engage with the ITT sector. This independent analysis, commissioned by MillionPlus, provides fresh insight on these questions from new analysis of school survey data.