Initial teacher education: definitions

The HESA academic year begins on 1 August and ends on 31 July the following year. For example, the academic year 2023 to 2024 begins on 1 August 2023 and ends on 31 July 2024.

For students and entrants, age is as at 31 August in the first year of the reporting period. For example, during the reporting period 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, age will be as at 31 August 2023.

For qualifiers, age is as at 31 July in the second year of the reporting period. For example, during the reporting period 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, age will be as at 31 July 2024.

Individuals are identified as ‘training to be able to teach in Welsh’ if they take part in a course which either leads to a formal certificate of bilingual education, or does not lead to a certificate, but is designed to enable them to teach in Welsh.

Whether or not the individual is known to have a disability is based on their self-assessment. 'No known disability' includes records where the individual has identified themselves as having no known impairment, health condition or learning difference, and individuals whose disability status is not known.

Entrant counts are based on a count of enrolments at a higher education level that fulfil the criteria for inclusion in the HESA standard registration population and are identified as an entrant enrolment according to the HESA definition of entrant. Where an individual starts more than one enrolment in the same academic year that meets the entrant criteria, each entrant enrolment is counted separately.

For the Initial Teacher Education publication, only entrants on a course that leads to Qualified Teacher Status are included in entrant counts.

The ethnicity of an individual is self-assessed and is only collected for individuals permanently addressed in the United Kingdom.

This is the individual’s home address on entry to the course. Officially, the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK or the EU. For the purposes of analysis, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are included as ‘Other UK’. Individual’s whose home address is in the UK but where the region is not known are treated as ‘Other UK’.

Initial Teacher Education covers all paths to someone becoming a teacher. 

For the Initial Teacher Education publication, only courses where successful completion leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are included.

ITE phase refers to whether the course is focused on training primary or secondary school teachers. When qualified, a teacher may teach a different age range than they originally trained for. For students and entrants, the ITE phase is determined by the ITE accreditation that the individual is attempting to obtain. For qualifiers, the ITE phase is determined by the ITE accreditation that the qualifier has successfully obtained.

Some ITE course accreditations cover a wider age range. In those cases, the ITE phase is determined by the oldest age group the accreditation covers.

For student and entrant enrolments, level of study refers to the level of qualification the student is aiming to obtain upon completion of their studies. For qualifier enrolments, level of qualification refers to the level of qualification the qualifier has successfully achieved. A qualifier may obtain a different level of qualification to the level they were originally studying at. Both the level of study and the level of qualification are either at postgraduate or undergraduate level. 

For the Initial Teacher Education publication, only enrolments on a course that leads to Qualified Teacher Status are included. Previous publications distinguished between PGCE courses that lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and other courses that lead to QTS. Postgraduate and PGCE are often used interchangeably, despite subtle differences. The level of study/qualification distinction replaces the PGCE/Other distinction. See PGCE for more information.

PGCE includes Postgraduate Certificate of Education, Professional Graduate Certificate of Education and Professional Diploma of Education. The Postgraduate Certificate of Education is a Masters level qualification, but the Professional Graduate Certificate of Education is not. Previous publications distinguished between PGCE courses that lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and other courses that lead to QTS. The level of study/qualification distinction replaces the PGCE/Other distinction.

Qualified Teacher Status is necessary to teach in a maintained school in Wales. QTS in Wales is different from QTS in England or General Teaching Council registry in Northern Ireland and Scotland. However, QTS gained in England enables those teachers to teach in Wales. Teachers with QTS gained in Scotland and Northern Ireland can apply to the Education Workforce Council (EWC) for recognition as a school teacher eligible to practice in Wales. Internationally trained teachers can also apply to EWC to have their teaching qualifications recognised and gain QTS in Wales.

Qualifier counts are based on a count of enrolments that fulfil the criteria for being included in the HESA qualifications obtained population. Where qualifications are awarded for more than one enrolment in the same academic year, each qualifier enrolment is counted separately.

For the Initial Teacher Education publication, only qualifiers where a Qualified Teacher Status qualification has been awarded are included in qualifier counts.

This is based on the sex of the individual as opposed to the gender with which they identify.

Student counts are based on a count of enrolments at a higher education level that fulfil the criteria for being included in the HESA standard registration population. 

Where an individual is enrolled on more than one enrolment in the same academic year, each student enrolment is counted separately.

For the Initial Teacher Education publication, only enrolments on a course that leads to Qualified Teacher Status are included in student counts.

This may include universities and colleges that are based in Wales and provide higher education, as well as the Welsh national centre of the Open University. It is based on the administrative centre of the reporting provider rather than the location of the campus.

The Welsh speaking ability of an individual is self-assessed. Individuals marked as ‘Not known to be fluent Welsh speakers’ includes those who self-report as non-fluent Welsh speakers, non-Welsh speakers, and individuals whose Welsh speaking proficiency is not known.

HESA student definitions