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93% of headteachers

rated the quality of our Training Programme as 'very good' or 'good'.

Impact

The issue

We all believe that every child has the right to a great education.

Education is the most powerful tool to help a child fulfil their potential.

But our education system is not designed with every child in mind. Children who have more hurdles to overcome than their wealthier peers. Who don’t get the opportunities they need to thrive.

This inequality follows them through life, affecting their chances, choices and wellbeing. The cycle continues from generation to generation, widening social inequality.

It’s a cycle we’re determined to break.

You’ll also be familiar with the sobering stats:

54% of pupils eligible for free school meals aren’t at the expected level in English or maths when they leave primary school.
78% won’t achieve grade 5 in GCSE maths and English.
They are more likely to be out of sustained work or education after school than to attend university.
The number of young people aged 16 to 24 years and not in education, employment or training (NEET) was estimated to total 711,000 in 2022.

Behind those stats are young people you see in your corridors and classrooms every day. Young people you know have the potential to succeed.

Unlocking potential

Your school’s staff are doing a tough job brilliantly. We know resources are squeezed and time is tight. That’s why we want to support you by recruiting trainee teachers who are committed to helping young people from low-income families thrive. It’s also why we place them in schools in deprived areas where they can make the biggest difference.

Our goal is to help every child fulfil their potential. We’ve been working towards this since 2003 and have made some impressive strides:

We’ve recruited more than 16,000 teachers, supporting more than two million pupils.
Within two years of partnering with us, underperforming school departments improve their GCSE results from 9% lower than others in the same school to 16% higher.

Creating lasting impact

We’re not about quick fixes. Transforming futures takes time. That means we’re with you for the long haul. We’ll recruit and develop trainees for as long as you need us to and they’ll often continue making a difference for years to come.

After three years our trainees are twice as likely to be teaching in low-income areas as those from other training routes.
Our trainees are around twelve times more likely to progress to senior leadership positions early in their career than those from other routes.
Now over 100 former trainees are headteachers and over 2,250 are in middle or senior leadership.

Don’t just take it from us: 93% of headteachers rated the quality of the Training Programme as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

Ready to recruit?

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We've recruited more than

16,000 teachers

for schools serving low-income communities.

teacher walking in between tables in a classroom smiling

More than

2,250

of our trainees are in leadership roles.

Programme

Our Training Programme is different

Everything we do is designed to help pupils fulfil their potential.

What we look for in a trainee

In short: we’re picky. Only a small fraction of people who apply get on our Training Programme. Which means you can be confident you’re getting the best person for the job.

The majority of our successful applicants will have a 2:1 degree. But, more than that, they'll have a passion for our vision and demonstrate some of the attributes that make a great teacher:

Humility, respect and empathy
An ability to interact
Leadership
Planning and organising
Problem solving
Resilience
Self-evaluation
Knowledge of their academic subjects 
Knowledge of our vision

How we select our trainees

The process starts with a detailed online application form before moving on to comprehensive assessments. By the time they reach your school successful applicants will have:

completed suitability to teach checks
been evaluated at our development centre through interviews, mock lessons and role plays
completed a subject knowledge assessment, to discover how ready they are to teach a subject or phase
identify areas of curriculum knowledge they need to improve

Our trainees are diverse

And we’re proud of that. Here's a quick snapshot:

They have varied backgrounds:

52% were the first in their family to go to university.
29% went to schools in low-income areas.

They bring varied experience:

40% are new graduates.
28% graduated less than two years ago.
29% are experienced professionals, changing careers three or more years after graduating.

They’ve studied a range of subjects at university:

39% maths, science and technology.
28% English and languages.
16% humanities.

In secondary schools, 43% of trainees are teaching a STEM subject.

Our training covers every base

We work with leading universities and educational experts, using the latest research to make sure our training is world class.

Our curriculum addresses all elements of the core content framework and builds beyond this aiming to develop great teachers who can unlock the potential of all children and emerging leaders committed to ending educational inequality.

Through completion of the Training Programme, trainees gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in year one.

This includes:

School-based training – during The Institute, trainees will spend two days in their employment school, and will spend five days in school-based learning, observing great practice and developing their teaching skills.

Training based on research – we're informed by research across the wider sector along with our own evaluations that we conduct with schools serving deprived communities, so trainees are supported and understand how to address the challenges that these schools face.

Expert curriculum design – a coherent and carefully sequenced learning journey so trainees can make rapid progress towards becoming a great teacher for their pupils and school.

Subject and phase focused – our subject and phase experts ensure that training draws from the latest subject and phase-specific research and best practice in the sector.

Behaviour management – trainees learn how to create a positive classroom culture and support the social and emotional wellbeing of young people.

Excellent support and instructional coaching – trainees develop by working with expert teacher educators to put their knowledge into practice and respond to feedback.

Accessible and innovative training - Our award-winning blended-learning approach includes IRIS Connect Technology, a video reflection tool used for teacher development which is used by all schools and trainees.

Wellbeing – they all have access to an employee assistance programme, an online wellbeing course and their own dedicated Teach First contact.

Both our early years and primary curricula have been comprehensively redesigned to align with new frameworks and Ofsted priorities, and to set our trainees and the children they teach up to thrive.

We give trainees broad experience

All trainees

must spend five days teaching in a contrasting school
must attend training days or equivalent to develop subject knowledge and teaching methodology. This requires trainees to be released for approximately 11 days during term time.

Early years trainees

must spend 20 days working with children in Key Stage 1, usually in the same school
must spend one day with children aged up to three years to increase their understanding of early childhood development. This day must include teaching experience

Primary school trainees

must spend at least 20 days working with young people aged 5-11 in a different key stage to the one they’re teaching in
must spend one day in a secondary school to increase their understanding of teaching in this setting
must spend a minimum of four days in a contrasting primary school during spring term

Secondary school trainees:

must spend one day in a primary school to increase their understanding of teaching in this setting
must spend a minimum of five days in a contrasting secondary school during spring term

A comprehensive range of support

We know our programme is tough which is why we make sure trainees get all the support they need. They’ll always have several people to turn to:

A Practice Development Lead

An experienced teacher recruited by us to oversee all their training. The Development Lead will work with the trainee over the two years, nurturing and challenging them in equal measure and helping them progress to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). They will also support subject development for early years and primary trainees.

A school-based mentor

An experienced leader at your school who works in the same key stage or subject as the trainee and is nominated to support them. We provide training so this is a good opportunity for them to develop leadership skills in your school too.

A Subject Development lead

An experienced teacher recruited by us to develop their subject-specific knowledge and pedagogy. The Subject Development Lead will work with the secondary school trainees over the two years, helping them to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and their PGCE.

A university tutor

We work with some of the best teacher training universities in the UK. A tutor will support your trainee academically, assessing their PGCE assignments.

Our programme’s structure

It takes two years to complete and involves several elements.

The Institute

This is the initial teacher training which equips trainees with the core skills to hit the ground running.

During this time, trainees will learn how to manage a classroom, plan lessons, assess pupils and spend five days in school centred learning. They’ll also boost their curriculum knowledge and meet other trainees.

This is when you’ll start getting to know them too. During the Institute, they’ll spend two days at your school. Trainees will observe lessons and start building relationships with the teachers and pupils they’ll be working with.

Trainees will have the opportunity to choose from a part-time (nine weeks) or full-time (five weeks) route, making the Institute more accessible to trainees with other commitments. Both routes will contain the same curriculum content and opportunities for school-based experience.

The first year

Your trainee will join the classroom after their initial teacher training – nothing sharpens their skills like teaching for real. What they’ll be doing varies in each school phase:

Early years and primary school trainees

Early years trainees become the lead class teacher of a nursery or reception class.
Primary school trainees become the lead class teacher of a Key Stage 1 or 2 class.
Initially they’ll teach a 60% timetable of lessons before moving up to 80% once they’re more established (usually after the first term).
Trainees achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) at the end of their first year.

Secondary school trainees

Secondary school trainees cover Key Stages 3 and 4 (Key Stages 4 and 5 in business studies only).
They’ll teach up to an 80% timetable of lessons from the start.
Trainees achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) at the end of their first year.

Alongside working in school they’ll attend training days, building their knowledge of teaching theory and getting more practical training.

The second year

Now an early career teacher (ECT), they’ll teach a timetable that reflects this and start building leadership credentials by taking on more responsibilities.

After the Training Programme

We’ll continue supporting them. They’ll have access to all our programmes that help teachers progress into leadership roles, not to mention our huge network of former trainees.

It’s one reason why more than 60% of all trainees who completed the programme since 2003 were still in teaching in 2021. Increasingly, former trainees are returning to the profession after gaining knowledge and skills in other areas too.

Ready to recruit?

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There are so many skills I developed on the programme.

Zara Khokhar,

2009 ambassador and Head of History

St Albans Academy

Over 60%

of our qualified teachers since 2003 were still teaching in 2021.

Cost

These are the costs for trainees starting in September 2025.

Your trainee’s salary

Your school pays their teaching salary for a minimum of two years. In year one, they’re paid within the unqualified teacher pay range of the pay salary scale:

A minimum of point 1 (early years and primary school trainees)
A minimum of point 2 (non-shortage subject secondary school trainees)
A minimum of point 3 (maths, science and MFL secondary school trainees).

In year two this rises to the salary for an early career teacher (ECT), which varies depending on location. 

Mentoring grant for year one

To fund the work of a mentor for each trainee in your school, we pay your school a grant of £2,400 per trainee.

Teach First’s school fees

The government funds most of our recruitment and training costs. But we ask your school to contribute as well. The amount varies for different school phases and locations.

Early years and primary schools

Fees for all primary schools: £2,400 in year one, £1,600 in year two.

Secondary schools

Non-shortage subjects (those not listed below): £5,700 in year one, £5,700 in year two.
Modern foreign languages: £6,700 in year one, £6,700 in year two.
Maths, physics, chemistry, biology, computing: £7,000 in year one, £7,000 in year two.

Ready to recruit?

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Primary teacher sat alongside two students while helping them with their work

Science teacher Lizzie Pocklington in class with students

Eligibility

Qualifying schools (Eligibility)

We prioritise recruiting trainee teachers for schools in England that teach a high number of pupils from low-income backgrounds.

Our criteria are agreed with the Department for Education (DfE) and used to identify schools that will benefit most from working with us. We use the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and pupil premium (PP) information for each school to guide us.

This focuses on schools that are ranked in the top 70% most deprived areas (based on IDACI) and where the proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is in the top 50% of all state-funded schools.

We understand that no set of criteria is ever going to perfectly capture the many forms that deprivation can take, so if you think your school would benefit from our support but doesn’t match the standard eligibility criteria above, get in touch for a chat about your situation. You may also be able to access our range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes to help teachers develop in their roles.

How to start hiring

You can apply to partner with us at any time of year, but new trainees will only be placed in a school for a September start. Log in to the Teach First Portal and fill in our online form: