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DfE to launch digital service for teacher training applications

15/06/21

A Government minister has confirmed that the online Apply for Teacher Training service for England is set to become fully operational from next October.

Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb MP (pictured) told Parliament that two rounds of pilots have provided successful and that the service – otherwise known as Apply – will fully replace the existing UCAS Teacher Training service later this year, in term for applications for next year’s training.

He said the new service was piloted by a number of school centred initial teacher training providers and schools in England during the October 2019 admissions cycles, and extended to 11 universities offering teacher training in October 2020.

Gibb said the service, which has been designed with feedback from candidates, is easy to use and designed to better meet the needs of potential trainees.

Right courses

He added: “The new service also ensures teacher training providers can make accurate decisions on whether their applicants are right for the courses they are offering.”

Earlier this year, a Department for Education blogpost described the efforts to ensure accessibility of the service, following a blog on the emphasis on usability in February of last year.

The development has been in line with the DfE’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published in early 2019, which includes the plan for the new service and a commitment to review the technology market to support it to work more efficiently and effectively.

Image from Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0

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