Updated teacher apprenticeship for the further education sector

How will the Institute (@IFATEched) support the DfE’s campaign to get more people teaching in FE?

Teachers in the further education sector are to benefit in 2022 from an updated apprenticeship, following employer led changes.

The level 5 learning and skills teacher apprenticeship will set a new benchmark for all other initial teacher education qualifications. This follows the re-shaping of the apprenticeship by employers through the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s revisions process.

Feedback from employers was that there were some aspects of the existing apprenticeship that could be even better, to reflect the role that teachers play across the FE sector.

For instance, the mandatory qualifications (level 5 diploma in education & training and level 2 safeguarding) have been removed, giving employers more freedom to choose the right qualifications for them.

The knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) have been revised and there are now nine areas that all FE teachers will be required to demonstrate.

These include:

• Promoting a passion for learning and set high expectations of all students and support their personal and skills development
• Demonstrate, maintain and evidence excellent pedagogy, subject, curriculum and industry knowledge and practice
• Support students with their next steps for progression and learning by providing appropriate information, advice, and guidance

The end point assessment has also been refreshed to align it with other similar apprenticeships.

The Apprenticeship Trailblazer group worked closely with the Education and Training Foundation and its membership body, The Society for Education and Training to ensure that the new Learning and Skills Teacher Apprenticeship would meet the eligibility criteria for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status.

Andrew Dowell, Head of Professional Status and Standards at the Education & Training Foundation, said:

“I am pleased that we engaged with the apprenticeship trailblazer group. It gave us assurance that the new learning and skills teacher apprenticeship would meet our eligibility requirements for qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS) status.

“With trainee teachers also needing to achieve their Level 2 English and maths qualifications before undertaking the end point assessment, they will be in a great position to undertake QTLS, once they have met the apprenticeship standard.”

Institute chief executive, Jennifer Coupland, said:

“Further education teachers play such an important role in equipping young people and those reskilling for great careers.

“As the standard setting organisation for skilled occupations, we have a duty to create apprenticeships for the FE sector that offer high quality training and give teachers the best grounding in their careers.”

The new apprenticeship offers employers across FE and skills a clear and comprehensive route to train teachers. A new Further Education recruitment campaign is currently live, and is calling on those with experience in their industry to share their skills by teaching in further education.

The apprenticeship is a great way to become a teacher, and is now accepted as a gateway to Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status without the need for an additional qualification, which sets it on a par with other training routes.

The Institute reviews apprenticeships approved for delivery at regular intervals, to decide if they need to be revised or withdrawn. Employer views are always central to these revisions, to make sure that they represent genuine improvements.

This helps to ensure stability for employers, training providers, end-point assessment organisations (EPAO), and apprentices. We also want to avoid unnecessary work for trailblazer groups.