For the first time, schools employing postgraduate teaching apprentices (PGTA) will be able to access salary grant funding equivalent to the bursary in all subjects, as announced last week.
The Department for Education is also continuing to offer grant funding for up to 150 maths trainees completing a teacher degree apprenticeship (TDA). Both of these are welcome developments.
However, there remains caution and nervousness across the sector owing to lingering operational and policy-related complexities.
Major structural and funding issues mean uptake remains low, though as was demonstrated in the recent National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT)-facilitated Apprenticeship Networking Forum, initial teacher training (ITT) providers are broadly supportive of this as a route into teaching and eager for insights on how to deliver it.
The good news is apprenticeships are now in a much better position to work because of significant and welcome reform efforts and ongoing advocacy, including simplifying the end-point assessment, reforms to entry requirements and reducing the programme length from 12 months to nine, aligning with the traditional postgraduate ITT academic year.
Previously, schools had to pay an apprentice over the summer holiday, which made the scheme less attractive in terms of cost effectiveness.
Barriers to teaching apprenticeships
Yet barriers across both PGTA and TDA routes still need to be overcome.
On the PGTA, there is strong demand from candidates for salaried training routes, particularly in primary, but school capacity, funding and the administrative burden continue to be major obstacles.
Under the apprenticeship scheme, schools must risk employing unqualified trainees without any guarantee of long-term benefit.
Many schools lack the financial capacity to support salaried roles - even with government contributions. Additionally, the PGTA funding band (£9,000) is lower than the standard postgraduate ITT rate (£9,535), leaving providers with tight margins and threatening their financial sustainability.
Concerns are further compounded by Education and Skills Funding Agency audits, which have caused considerable anxiety due to a limited understanding of how ITT provision operates.
Providers are being asked to repay funds on questionable grounds - for instance, erroneous assumptions by auditors that providers should not use apprenticeship funds for subject knowledge where an apprentice holds a PhD or for safeguarding training where they have previously been employed as a teaching assistant.
Cost concerns
These actions have heightened fears about financial viability across the sector.
Managing apprenticeships is resource-intensive, even when trainee numbers remain stable. Monthly reporting and complex compliance requirements have forced providers to hire additional staff despite receiving no extra funding to cover the costs.
Moreover, ITT providers must apply separately to join the apprenticeship register, even if they are already accredited for ITT delivery.
This duplicative process imposes an unnecessary administrative burden. We recommend automatic registration for all accredited ITT providers.
In high-demand subjects such as maths and science, existing bursaries make traditional ITT routes far more attractive than apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships in these areas are often uncompetitive as they are salaried at a lower rate and subject to taxation, offering little incentive for candidates to choose this pathway.
Significant financial risk
The undergraduate TDA is still in its early stages and already faces a number of practical, financial and educational challenges.
One of the core issues is the requirement for schools to commit to a four-year salaried position - starting at the unqualified teacher 1 pay scale - for individuals who may be as young as 18. This presents a significant long-term financial risk for schools.
Owing to the 40 per cent off-the-job training requirement, trainees are only in school three days per week. Providers are not permitted to use holiday time for training, which further exacerbates workload and cost pressures.
For providers, the biggest barrier is securing enough schools willing to commit to a four-year partnership under these conditions.
Challenges are particularly acute in the secondary phase. Subject knowledge acquisition remains a major hurdle - for instance, training someone to teach physics while they are simultaneously working toward a physics degree is a significant stretch.
While these issues are somewhat less pronounced in the primary phase, they are still present.
Financial viability is another pressing concern. The funding band of £27,000 over four years is insufficient for providers, especially with the increased costs associated with developing and delivering a new programme.
The TDA is experiencing many of the same teething problems we saw with the PGTA in its early days.
I genuinely want it to succeed - but to do so, the government must address all of the issues above and in addition, pay particular attention to amending the salary model.
Expecting full-time pay for trainees who are only available 60 per cent of the time is not sustainable. A radical rethink of the funding structure is urgently needed.
Practical solutions
Looking forward, and to support the system to deliver on its promise, there is a need for:
- Continued simplification of administrative and regulatory processes.
- Clearer, centralised guidance for ITT providers.
- Automatic recognition of accredited providers for apprenticeship delivery.
- Ongoing monitoring of policy risks and support for members dealing with audits and funding concerns.
- A review of the pay scale being used to pay apprentices/trainee teachers - ideally with a view to introducing a separate pay scale (especially for TDA).
- Greater marketing and awareness among potential applicants.
Emma Hollis is CEO of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers
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