ANDY DAVIES, PROJECT CO-LEAD; DEPUTY DEAN, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, SPORT AND HEALTH SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
LIS BUNDOCK, PROJECT CO-LEAD; ASSOCIATE DEAN (EDUCATION AND STUDENT EXPERIENCE), UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
RICHARD HARVEY-SWANSTON, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
ROB CORBETT, APPRENTICE AMBASSADOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
ALLISON GODFREY, EMPLOYER COORDINATOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
POLLY HERBERT, HEAD OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
MONICA SECRETAN, APPRENTICE AMBASSADOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
EMILY SINCLAIR, PROJECT ADMINISTRATIVE LEAD, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK
The presence of teachers who reflect the diversityThe recognition of individual differences in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, physical ability, religious beliefs and other differences of the communities that they teach is critical in shaping who feels welcome, who can belong and what kinds of futures seem possible (Demie and Huat See, 2022). Repeated efforts to recruit student teachers from underrepresented groupsThe diversity of research participants should reflect the educational community for whose benefit the research is taking place. When this is not the case, some groups are underrepresented has highlighted the barriers faced by many from these communities that prevent them from applying to teacher training (Kotonya et al., 2025). Coupled with this, recruitment challenges are especially acute for schools serving the communities that face the most difficulties in raising pupil outcomes (McLean and Worth, 2025). While our day-to-day focus as a university provider of initial teacher trainingAbbreviated to ITT, the period of academic study and time in school leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) (ITTInitial teacher training - the period of academic study and time in school leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)) is on those entering the profession, we wish to play our part in the wider process of shaping who enters the profession, how they are supported and included, and how they are enabled to thrive within the school workplace.
This article aims to examine how we have sought to address these challenges, sharing how we have used the affordances of the new teacher degree apprenticeship (TDA) to inform our offer.
The teacher degree apprenticeship
While diversifying the teaching workforce is a long-standing objective for the University of Brighton’s initial teacher education (ITE) partnership, realising this aim has proved challenging. The TDA has provided a significant opportunity to make real progress on this objective with the more equitable offer that we have developed, in close collaboration with school partners and their communities.
Following a long gestation period, the long-awaited undergraduate apprenticeship route to qualified teacher status was announced in February 2024 (DfEDepartment for Education - a ministerial department responsible for children’s services and education in England, 2024). The features of this new pathway afford tangible benefits for both employing schools and potential applicants (Worth, 2025). Firstly, in using the apprenticeship levy for training costs, schools are enabled to target resources for positions that are hard to recruit to. Secondly, the apprenticeship focus of learning on the job means that apprentices are in the classroom as emerging teachers from the start, supporting pupils from the beginning of their courses. Thirdly, as a salaried route, apprentices are provided with the opportunity to ‘earn while they learn’, particularly supporting applicants who could not otherwise afford to train to teach.
Building the partnership and course
At the time of writing, our TDA offer has launched with the first two routes: primary education and secondary maths. We have recruited 87 new apprentices, with no corresponding falls in recruitment to the other undergraduate routes that we offer, indicating that we are reaching candidates who would not otherwise have applied. The vast majority of the new apprentices recruited are experienced professionals who already worked for their employing schools prior to the start of the course. The majority of starters have reported that they had been unable to undertake initial teacher training via traditional routes for reasons of study costs, salary needs and previous academic experiences.
Directing efforts and targeting available resources
In order to meet our ambitions, we needed additional funding to provide targeted resources. In March 2024, we were successful in being selected as a member of the Department for Education’s pilot scheme for the secondary maths TDA. In September 2024, we secured funding through the Office for Students (OfS) Degree Apprenticeship Funding Competition for a project to engage: (i) schools serving areas of educational under-achievement, and (ii) applicants from LGBTQ+, Black, Asian and mixed heritage candidates, as well as those from areas underrepresented in higher education. This funding enabled us to employ three additional staff, who built partnerships with new and existing employers and community groups, informing candidates of the benefits of the TDA. Their work was vital in the successful launch of our new apprenticeship, and also laid a sustainable foundation for our recruitment efforts in the coming years.
Employer engagement in recruitment strategy and course design
Our first step in February 2024 was to establish our Employer Strategic Oversight Group, who met monthly, advising on recruitment strategy and course design. Their input was vital in identifying ways in which to attract applicants and in developing a course structure and teaching approach to meet employers’ needs. Their support strengthened the credibility of the apprenticeship and enabled us to be confident in our innovative approaches, such as focusing on potential over set entry criteria, maximising time learning on the job, blended delivery of off-the–job training and a course duration of three years. At the same time, their sustained requests for a primary route were instrumental in our developing this route, despite initial questions about demand.
Targeted recruitment activities
In order to maximise recruitment, our TDA team worked tirelessly to reach targeted candidates. We held fortnightly online information events, reached out to different community groups and used a significant portion of our funding for a targeted marketing campaign to engage the maximum number of employers. While we were successful in reaching employers, we found that their preference was to employ candidates with whom they had already worked. We have managed to widen participation when considered against the characteristics of our standard ITE entrants: of the cohort recruited for the maths apprenticeship, all but two are mature students, half come from areas defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation as the most deprived, and 20 per cent of apprentices are Asian or from mixed heritage. At the same time, we still want to reach more of these applicants and also expand our reach to our other targeted communities (e.g. Black and LGBTQ+). We are now engaged in rethinking how such barriers might be overcome at the recruitment stage. This will involve a deliberate focus on pairing applicants with interested schools in order for them to gain experience and form relationships, so that employers invest in their training for the length of a degree apprenticeship.
Promoting a wider commitment to inclusive schools
The marketing campaign that we utilised, Difference Makes a Difference, proved successful in reaching employers. This campaign focused on how inclusive approaches to teacher training benefit schools and the communities they serve. This culminated in a conference for school leaders, governors, teachers, trainees and community groups, which foregrounded speakers from underrepresented backgrounds, exploring the barriers faced in school communities, alongside a commitment to finding ways in which to address these barriers through inclusive practices.
Lessons learned and looking ahead
Despite our successful launch of this new apprenticeship, we are mindful that in our objective of more representative school communities we have really only made minor steps forward so far. Our focus now is to further develop this route, its recruitment practices, curriculum, assessments and pedagogy, and explore ways of building on apprentices’ valuable professional and personal experiences to support long-term careers in the teaching profession.
We also recognise that we have a wider role to play in creating the broader environment in which apprentices can thrive post-qualification. We are addressing this by continuing to broaden our partnership and developing employers’ awareness of this route, as well as practices that support the retention and development of teachers from underrepresented groups.
