Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026

Baroness Blake of Leeds Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness Blake of Leeds]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026.

Relevant document: 50th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments for their scrutiny of this instrument. These draft regulations were laid in Parliament on 22 January 2026.

As noble Lords will be aware, the quality of teaching is critical to securing the best outcomes for pupils, learners and students in all parts of our education system, from early years right through to adult education. In October last year, the post-16 education White Paper set out an ambitious vision for the future of our skills system in England. The further education sector is the driving engine of that vision. We must ensure that high-quality teaching is hard-wired into our colleges and training providers.

We are taking decisive steps now to improve and secure the quality of teacher training for the FE sector. Ensuring that there is an accessible, attractive and high-quality training offer for new teachers will help improve the recruitment and retention of teachers in the FE sector, contributing to the Government’s commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers for our schools and colleges. It will also send a clear message about our focus on securing high and rising standards of teaching in our colleges.

This instrument marks an important step towards creating a regulated system of teacher training for FE, covering the full range of providers delivering relevant courses across the sector and based on clear, evidence-based quality standards. It dovetails with the focus on quality that comes with the new Ofsted inspection framework for initial teacher education, which will now encompass significantly more FE teacher training providers than it previously did.

For many years, successive Governments have focused efforts on securing standards of teacher training for our primary and secondary schools—with considerable success—but, until recently, that focus had not been extended to how well our FE teachers are being prepared. There is excellent practice in parts of the system, and regulation must not constrain or discourage innovation and excellence. However, there is too much inconsistency across the sector, and some deeply concerning examples of poor practice in FE teacher training have emerged in recent years. Trainees have not always been guaranteed a high-quality training experience that prepares them to be great FE teachers, and employers have not always been assured that teacher training courses are equipping new teachers with the skills and knowledge they will need.

The regulatory system created by these regulations will place new requirements on all providers of specified FE teacher training courses in England. This includes universities, colleges, training providers and any other organisations delivering such courses. These providers will be required: to have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State on the curriculum content of FE teacher training programmes; to have regard to guidance on delivery standards for FE teacher training courses; to register with the Department for Education as a provider of FE teacher training courses; and to submit regular data and information to the Department for Education relating to any specified FE teacher training courses provided.

These measures are proportionate but significant in their intended impact. For the first time, we, employers and potential new teachers will have clear sight of what teacher training provision is being offered, where and by whom. Such transparency is a key ingredient of a quality-focused system. That focus will be enhanced further by requiring all providers of specified courses to have regard to clear, evidence-based standards on course delivery and curriculum content.

DfE officials have worked closely, over a sustained period of time, with stakeholders from the FE provider and teacher training sectors. There is widespread consensus that the approach we are pursuing will deliver a clear, positive dividend in driving up standards, while ensuring that providers continue to have the flexibility they need to exercise their own professional and expert judgment.

These measures have been shaped by public consultation, a formal call for evidence and sustained engagement with professionals from across the sector. I record my thanks to all those who have contributed their time and expertise to the process.

Particular thanks are due to the expert group convened by the Department for Education, chaired by Anna Dawe OBE, principal of Wigan and Leigh College, one of the first technical excellence colleges, which has played a pivotal role in advising on the evidence for high-quality content in FE teacher training. I beg to move.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, as the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, has just said, this statutory instrument is probably well overdue. It is something that we have not looked at, because Governments of whatever colour or combination really just did not get around to it. So, I congratulate the current Government on having taken this first step.

Being as fair as I possibly can be, they are starting on a process that may not get the standards we want consistently for something like a decade. There are existing staff structures going through and there is the institution of training. Every standard will take time to bed in and normalise, and it will take time to find out where it has have worked and where it has not. This is not so much a criticism as an observation of what is obvious. It will take time.

Having said that, I do not have any objection to the SI, but it would be interesting to hear some of the things that will be needed to speed up the process of guaranteeing the quality. One is continuing professional development and how we are going to bring up the standards of those teachers already in place, who may be below the standard of what we would want. What is going to be done to intervene to do that? This will vary across the board.

We are dealing with a huge number of students here, every bit as wide as the school system. Their degree of success or failure has probably meant they have ended up in the further education system. Let us face it: as both the previous and current Government have said, even with improved career information and guidance, people are ending up there because they have not succeeded or have not been perceived to be succeeding to the highest level. How are we getting through to these students who may not have succeeded very well?

This brings me on to the subject—which I am sure the noble Baroness would have been disappointed if I had not raised—of special education needs. The new White Paper talks of early identification. The fact that it is being said that this needs to be improved means that people going through this system stand a very good chance of not having their needs identified or having the support structures there. It is a historical problem, and this Government just happen to have been brave enough to hit the wave and go through with it. So, what will they do to improve that structure to get these students through?

A high percentage of people on level 1 or 2 courses will almost certainly have special educational needs. What are we doing to identify these and make sure their teacher has the access to both the knowledge and in some cases the technology—I remind the Grand Committee of my interest with Microlink—so they use the right stuff and identify the right assistive technology to get their students through? Recognising there is a problem and not giving them more of the same is very important for these groups, because they have failed with more of the same already—so you need to work smarter to deliver.

Making sure that is done will mean we stand a better chance of getting people who are in the training phase of their lives, getting ready to go out and earn a living, to actually benefit from this. It would be normal to expect those providing this training to be able to identify whether people can do this. It also means that other support provided in adult life to enable people to do this can be identified through jobcentres et cetera. Whatever people are doing out there, it has to be identified, and they need to be accessed.

We are dealing with a historical problem here; it has been recognised by the previous Government, and we have started taking steps, but what is going to be done? In other words, we thank the Government for this, but what are we going to do to bring the rest of the staff up to the standard? When it comes to special educational needs provision, what are you going to do to identify those on the margin in particular, who are failing—often just failing—because they are not getting that little bit of help?

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, His Majesty’s loyal Opposition agree that all initial teacher training courses should set and achieve the highest possible standards so that every learner benefits from high-quality teaching. There is no disagreement across this Committee about the importance of well-trained teachers in further education. The sector plays a crucial role in equipping people with the skills that they need to succeed and thrive, and the quality of teaching is central to that mission.

The Government’s own assessment makes clear why action is needed. The current system has led to inconsistency in provision, and Ofsted has expressed serious concerns about the quality of some courses. That is not acceptable for trainee teachers, employers or students. In that context, introducing a clearer framework for initial teacher training in further education is a reasonable step. Establishing expectations around course content and delivery and requiring providers to meet them should help to drive greater consistency across the sector.

However, there are important questions about how this framework will operate in practice. Its success will depend heavily on effective oversight and enforcement. The Government have made it clear that compliance will be monitored primarily through Ofsted inspections, yet they also acknowledge that this will place additional demands on the system, with further resourcing decisions deferred to future fiscal events. So it should be fair and reasonable to ask how the Government will ensure that Ofsted is provided with the adequate funding that it needs to carry out this role properly. Without sufficient resource, there is a real risk that these new standards will exist on paper but not be consistently upheld in practice.

More broadly, your Lordships’ House will note that the Government have left open the possibility of further intervention in future, including tighter controls over the provider market. That underlines the importance of getting this right now and ensuring that the system is both robust and workable from day one.

In conclusion, we support the principle that initial teacher training in further education must be of the highest quality. However, the Government must ensure that the necessary resources and oversight are in place so that these reforms can be meaningful in practice.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lords and noble Baroness for their contributions to this important discussion. I personally had the benefit of attending an FE college and, from a very early age, I recognised the extremely important contribution that FE makes to our rich landscape of educational provision.

I will try to pick up the main points made across the discussion. This Government are absolutely focused on improving the quality of teaching across the whole education system. This is an important turning point for FE teacher training. We have to be honest—— I hope noble Lords will recognise this from previous years in government—that it has been the Cinderella of the teacher training system for too long. We have to emphasise the Government’s commitment to promoting high and rising standards in teaching, recognising that there are examples of exceptionally good practice. We need to make sure that that excellence is protected and that trainee teachers and their employers have full confidence in the training they receive.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

We are always grateful for the noble Lord’s insight into these areas, but we know that FE colleges are incredibly inclusive. We must, as I think the noble Lord is suggesting, look out for good practice and make sure that, where we see it, it is replicated and becomes the norm. That is the exact point: we have patchy provision. We want to make sure that, wherever young people go to study, there is a good standard right across the piece. We also want to make sure that the transition between different stages is smoother and information exchange between the different settings much more user-friendly. We collect data, but I do not think we use it effectively enough to assist teachers in making sure that their students get off to the flying start they need.

In her comments on pay, the noble Baroness, Lady Garden of Frognal, in fairness, highlights an important area. The latest data show that the average salary for FE college teachers increased by 6.1% in 2023-24, compared to 2022-23, but the Association of Colleges and the Sixth Form Colleges Association recommended a 4% increase for FE teachers in 2025-26. Actual pay awards are decided in colleges in line with local circumstances. In May 2025, the department announced a further investment of £190 million for colleges and other 16-to-19 providers, in addition to the £400 million of extra funding that we are planning to spend on 16-to-19 education. A significant amount of funding is going in and we want to make sure that these issues are addressed.

On the Ofsted comments, mentioned by the noble Earl, Lord Effingham, the Secretary of State recently wrote to the chief inspector confirming that funding will be made available in the year 2026-27, to ensure that Ofsted can have an impact in the first year of the new four-year inspection cycles. Future funding will, of course, be subject to fiscal events.

I have tried to gather information from, and respond to the information given in, the comments made and the questions asked. I hope noble Lords will feel reassured that every aspect has been addressed with extreme seriousness, recognising just how important the FE sector is and how important it is for learners to feel supported in every setting, responding particularly to their needs. The proposed measures enjoy wide support from across the FE and teacher training sectors and have been developed in close collaboration with leading experts and representatives from those sectors. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

Motion agreed.