AELP Webinar ITE Reform – Preparing for changes from 1 September 2026

Overview

New legal obligations for all providers of Further Education (FE) initial teacher education (ITE) courses will come into effect on 1 September 2026 for the 2026/27 academic year, bringing significant changes for organisations delivering specified FE ITE courses at Level 5 and above, including independent training providers (ITPs) and apprenticeship providers. While providers offering only Level 3 and Level 4 courses will not be required to meet these new duties, they may still benefit from understanding the wider regulatory reforms.

Under the new requirements, FE ITE providers will need to register with the DfE, have regard to statutory guidance on curriculum content and delivery standards, and submit relevant data and information. This webinar will provide a clear overview of these legal obligations, outline what they mean in practice, and guide providers through the registration process for the 2026/27 academic year, which opens on 5 May 2026. There will be an opportunity to ask questions directly to the DfE ITE policy team at the end of the session.

What you'll learn:

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

Understand the legal obligations on FE ITE providers that will take effect on 1 September 2026
Understand whether your organisation and the courses it offers will be in scope of the requirements
If in scope, understand the processes you need to follow to ensure you are compliant, and associated timings
Ask questions of the DfE policy team, and get information about how to contact them for future queries

Who should attend?

Any providers (including ITPs and apprenticeship providers) who are planning to deliver specified FE ITE courses at Level 5 or above in the academic year 2026 to 2027
Providers of other, non-specified courses may find it helpful to attend the webinar to get a sense of the wider reforms to FE teacher training that are being implemented by DfE
The legal obligations sit with an appropriate senior manager at each provider (known as the “academic authority”) – typically someone at board/director level
Staff responsible for leading and administering FE teacher training courses will need to ensure they understand and can carry out the relevant processes.