Partnership with Tes Institute
Our Secondary ITT Offer: Working in Partnership with Tes Institute
Portsmouth SCITT is proud to be a Lead Partner for Tes Institute, an accredited Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provider. From September 2026, they will offer high-quality secondary teacher training, designed, quality-assured and accredited by Tes Institute and delivered in partnership with local schools.
This page explains clearly how the Portsmouth SCITT and Tes Institute partnership works, what applicants can expect, and the respective responsibilities of each organisation involved in the training journey.

Who Does What? – A Clear Overview
Below is an overview of the role of each organisation, following the DfE’s requirements for transparency in marketing and publication.
Tes Institute – the accredited ITT provider
Tes Institute has full and final accountability for all aspects of training design, delivery and quality across the partnership. This includes:
- Designing the curriculum and ensuring full integration of the ITT Early Career Framework (ITTECF)
- Delivering online and face-to-face training content
- Appointing and quality-assuring pathway tutors
- Overseeing all assessment processes and making the final recommendation for QTS
- Ensuring all compliance, safeguarding, quality assurance and legal requirements are met
Portsmouth SCITT – the Lead Partner
As Lead Partner, Portsmouth SCITT has an operational and strategic role in the delivery of the secondary ITT programme. We:
- Recruit applicants to the secondary programme
- Deliver elements of training and contribute to curriculum design
- Lead and quality-assure mentoring across our partnership schools
- Coordinate and deliver Intensive Training & Practice (ITaP) weeks
- Oversee school placements and ensure trainee workload and wellbeing remain manageable
Please note: These responsibilities relate solely to the new secondary training provision. Portsmouth SCITT's primary programme continues to run independently under their own accreditation.
What to Expect from the Secondary Training Route

Decisions, Offers, Feedback and Deferrals
Applicants can expect an admissions process that is timely, fair, transparent and inclusive.
Portsmouth SCITT are committed to ensuring:
- timely responses to applications.
- every applicant has time to attend interviews for other courses with other providers, and to consider the outcomes of other applications before accepting or declining offers with us.
- applicants are given a deadline to meet any offer conditions that have been set.
- applicants that apply and are interviewed at different times through the recruitment period, should be given the same amount of time to meet the same conditions, where possible.
- if an application is rejected, feedback should explain the reason(s) why to the applicant, including advice on how the application can be improved.
Accessibility
Tes Institute is committed to promoting access for people with disabilities and additional needs. If you have a disability or additional support need and require us to make reasonable adjustments prior to the interview, please get in touch:
https://www.tes.com/institute/institute-disability-inclusion
Quick Links
- Get Into Teaching - Get Into Teaching | Get Into Teaching GOV.UK
- Find Postgraduate Teacher Training - Find teacher training courses - GOV.UK
- Apply for Teacher Training - Apply for teacher training - GOV.UK
- Student Finance England - Student finance login - GOV.UK
- Tes Institute Policies - Policies | Tes
Any Questions?
Portsmouth SCITT warmly welcomes enquiries about the new secondary training pathway and look forward to supporting the next generation of excellent subject specialists across Portsmouth and the surrounding area.
For details on the courses offered by Portsmouth SCITT as Lead Partner for Tes Institute, please see their website – HERE.