Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the devolved appointment processes described by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in her statement on 12 August 2026 are consistent with the accountability expected of an accredited initial teacher training provider.

The Secretary of State for Education sets the initial teacher training (ITT) criteria, which accredited providers must meet to deliver ITT that leads to qualified teacher status. These criteria include the requirements for high-quality training, including the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which draws on the best available evidence to set out the knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching.

Accredited ITT providers are accountable for ensuring that their provision is compliant with the ITT criteria, including governance criteria to ensure management structures facilitate the effective operation of high-quality ITT programmes. Ofsted independently inspects all accredited ITT providers to assure the quality of ITT provision and compliance with the ITT criteria.

As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for their own staffing decisions. The department does not prescribe individual providers’ internal appointment processes, arrangements for verifying academic qualifications or research integrity arrangements, and does not have plans to do so.