Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Recruitment and Retention Support Services

The Department for Education (the Department) is seeking to procure support to aid the recruitment, transition, training and retention of career changers and to reprocure the Maths and Physics Chairs programme. Career changers, however, require more support than new graduate applicants to ITT in deciding to apply for teaching, and through the transition from their previous careers into the classroom.

We seek bids from suppliers that can demonstrate how they can attract, recruit and support career changers to make a successful transition into teaching, deliver 'added value' from their previous careers and retain them once trained. Contracts awarded on Lot 1 will be targeted at a specific region or regions.

Each contract will not exceed a maximum value of £3m (Including VAT) in the initial contract period (i.e. for two cohorts of up to 200 participants in total). Researchers can also champion evidence-based practice and higher education.

However, mainstream teacher training routes have generally not targeted post-doctoral researchers. The Department is keen to continue with the Chairs programme and wants to increase the flexibility of the programme to include both School Direct (fee) and School Direct (salaried) to give schools and participants more choice.

We are looking to award a single national contract for the Maths and Physics programme which will be for up to 100 participants per cohort, placed in schools across England. We seek bids from organisations that can demonstrate how they can attract and support high calibre post-doctoral researchers to make a successful transition into teaching, and how they will retain trainees once trained.

We invite bids from individual organisations or consortia capable of delivering a national programme. The main subject focus of the Chairs programme will be maths and physics but the programme may also include participants in other EBacc subjects.

The Department may consider expanding the scope to other subjects/phases that are challenging to recruit to where it can be managed within the existing Service and Pricing Model. BOTH LOTS: The initial scope of each contract is for two intakes of up to 100 participants per cohort to start their training in 2019/20 (2019 cohort) and 2020/21 (2020 cohort) respectively.

There is a possibility of an extension for one further cohort. Additional information: Please note that the DfE will be utilising its own e-Tendering portal for this procurement This can be accessed via the following URL: https://education.bravosolution.co.uk Once organisations have registered there, and received their temporary password, they will be able to sign in, express an interest and access all the procurement documentation necessary for completing their bid.