ITT Regional Engagement Audit – Outcome Review

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206 schools replied to the audit request – which is an impressive 77% of schools in the Saffron Teaching School Hub area – and we have gained considerable understanding about the how and why of school engagement in this vital sector.

Key outcomes from the audit indicate that:

58% of our schools have offered trainee placements or hosted trainees in this academic year:

• Over half of our region schools are engaging in this vital work
• School’s role in training our teachers is ever more crucial as we move into a period of challenging recruitment and retention
• Many of trainee teachers who train locally and go on to work in region’s schools as ECTs, so training our own teachers is key to ensuring teacher supply

As well as hosting trainees, schools have engaged in ITT in a variety of ways:

• Hosting new Intensive Training and Practice placements
• Offering teachers and leaders to deliver core and subject training
• Providing quality assurance and assessment visits

27% of our schools reported they were not currently engaged in Initial Teacher Training – the most common barriers to engaging in ITT were:

• Some schools are unsure of where to start on their ITT journey
• Others highlighted mentoring capacity where schools have existing ECTs
• Leadership capacity was another barrier – particularly when the school has new leadership

• There is difficulty in finding mentors where lots of their staff are part time
• Schools lack of knowledge or experience on how teacher training routes/funding works

Small, rural schools have particular challenges to engaging in ITT, in particular:

• Leaders have multiple roles and find it difficult to engage in the new mentoring requirements

Creative solutions to ITT engagement - case studies

In response to the identified barriers, we have collaborated with Hubs across the East of England to share success stories of schools who have found creative ways to overcome these barriers and ensure they can continue to offer trainee placements. We hope these case studies will be helpful to leaders in considering their future ITT engagement.

Further information is also available on the Support for Schools page of our website, including our 2023-24 ITT Provider Directory for Headteachers.

If you would like to find out more about how you could engage in ITT for September 2024, please contact Kerrie McGivern at kerriemcgivern@saffron.academy to discuss how Saffron Teaching School Hub can support your school.