From September 2024, as part of the Teaching School Hub’s (TSH) strategic role, the DfE has asked all hubs to communicate with schools within their local area to measure engagement with, raise awareness of and encourage engagement with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) via a survey.

Widespread completion of the survey will enable the West Sussex Teaching School Hub to understand school engagement in ITT better and support us in ensuring we have a strong pipeline of trainee teachers in West Sussex, high-quality placements, and retention of our trainees into ECTs. It will also enable us to understand the challenges schools face concerning participation in ITT and allow us to work with local ITT providers to support West Sussex schools further.  

The DfE requires all TSHs are required to do the following: 

1. Map school engagement in their TSH area to help understand the ITT Landscape.  

2. Track the % of schools that are engaged in ITT. The DfE defines engagement as “A school is classed as engaged with ITT if they offer an ITT placement for an ITT trainee.” You do not have to have had this offer taken up for your school to be classified as engaged.   

3. Track the level of school engagement. The DfE’s definition of the different levels of engagement are:   

• Fully engaged = currently hosting a trainee for full or part placement in the academic year.  

• Partially engaged/infrequently engaged = School is willing to host but doesn't have an active trainee in the academic year.  

• Not engaged = No engagement / not willing or able to host.  

4. Track the schools willing to offer Intensive Training and Practice placements alongside their ITT provider.  

TSHs will collect a range of data on ITT from schools on their current engagement in ITT for 23-24. This data will be shared with the Department for Education. The DFE does not require a data-sharing agreement as this data has already been published.   

The DfE has no plans to publish the information provided in the school engagement spreadsheet. This supports our understanding of school engagement in ITT and how to mitigate any barriers to engagement. However, any information provided to the Department may be subject to publication or disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

Benefit to West Sussex Schools 

We hope this data collection will benefit our region's schools and ITT providers. Once we have your data, we can highlight and better assist with your school’s needs. We will work with Headteachers to engage with ITT providers to ensure placement capacity and ITT expertise in the region. We will also share with ITT providers the barriers to engaging in ITT and see what we can collectively do to mitigate any barriers to ITT engagement.  

As a Teaching School Hub, we want to be a one-stop shop for potential candidates looking to train to teach and for schools looking to engage with a local ITT provider who might offer a particular training route that the school wants to offer. We are working hard with all the ITT providers to map all ITT provisions in the West Sussex Area to start this process.  

For routes into teaching in West Sussex, watch our informational film here. 

Complete the survey here:

ITT Engagement Survey for West Sussex Schools