Baroness Cash

To ensure initial teacher training is consistently high-quality, the department regulates the initial teacher training (ITT) market by accrediting ITT providers to deliver courses leading to qualified teacher status and the setting of ITT criteria, which all accredited providers should follow as a condition of their accreditation.

Ofsted independently inspects the quality of ITT provision and compliance with the ITT criteria. Where an inspection identifies that a provider is not meeting the expected standard in all evaluation areas, Ofsted will re-inspect within 12 months.

The Secretary of State for Education may withdraw the accreditation of an ITT provider where the provider no longer meets the requirements of accreditation. The circumstances that may lead to withdrawal are outlined in the ITT criteria and include non-compliance with one or more of the specified criteria, or failure to achieve the expected standard in Ofsted re-inspection.

The department has not withdrawn accreditation from any ITT provider since September 2024.

The department has not been in contact with the University of Cambridge since 1 July 2026 regarding its status as an accredited initial teacher training provider.

The University of Cambridge is an autonomous institution that is rightly establishing an independent investigation. The university published further details about this on 4 September, which are available at their website.

It is not for the government to dictate the terms of the university’s investigation. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and I have both met with the vice chancellor of the university and other senior leaders to seek assurance that their investigation will be rigorous and conducted with urgency.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England. The OfS has an independent board, which makes its own decisions about how to use its regulatory powers, including when and how to engage with registered providers regarding their compliance with the conditions of registration. The statutory basis for the OfS’ regulatory powers is set out in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

The department awaits the outcomes of the investigation, and I understand that the OfS currently has no plans to open regulatory action on this issue.

The University of Cambridge is an autonomous institution that is rightly establishing an independent investigation. The university published further details about this on 4 September, which are available at their website.

It is not for the government to dictate the terms of the university’s investigation. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and I have both met with the vice chancellor of the university and other senior leaders to seek assurance that their investigation will be rigorous and conducted with urgency.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England. The OfS has an independent board, which makes its own decisions about how to use its regulatory powers, including when and how to engage with registered providers regarding their compliance with the conditions of registration. The statutory basis for the OfS’ regulatory powers is set out in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

The department awaits the outcomes of the investigation, and I understand that the OfS currently has no plans to open regulatory action on this issue.

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.

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.

Within the framework of the National Curriculum, schools make their own choices about which specific books or other resources they use. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. We encourage schools to promote reading for pleasure and trust the judgements of schools and teachers in their choice of books.

It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils.

​The government’s reading framework also offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers.

This government has committed £12.5 million to provide a library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament, alongside £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books and reading material to support reading for pleasure.

The department does not collect data on the number of diversity, equity and inclusion roles in state-funded schools, or the costs associated with such role. While the school workforce census collects data on broad staff categories, it does not capture information on specific functions or responsibilities undertaken by individual employees.