Teach First has been granted £113 million to continue its work for another six and a half years, new documents show.

A contract award notice, published today, states that the charity will once again receive funding to run the government’s high-potential initial teacher training and leadership development programme.

It will cover the recruitment and training of two cohorts of “high-quality graduates and career changers”, one each starting in 2022 and 2023.

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The contract will officially come to an end in October 2025, with the option for a two-year extension.

Teach First trainees ‘to help close attainment gap’

According to the notice, the key aims of the programme are to:

• Recruit the best and brightest graduates and career changers who have the potential to be highly skilled teachers and leaders and who would be otherwise unlikely to join the profession or work in an eligible school; and
• Train them to be highly skilled teachers and emerging leaders and fill teacher vacancies at eligible schools in England to help close the attainment gap between deprived pupils and their peers.

Last year it was announced that Teach First had partnered up with the Church of England and the Chartered College of Teaching to send trainees to primary schools in poorer rural areas.

The Rural Teaching Partnership will be run in 10 pilot areas with Teach First recruits starting two-year placements at Church of England primary schools from September this year.