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Teacher training providers will no longer be able to access a key funding grant if they do not provide trainees with content for pupils with special educational needs, the government has warned today.

New says that in order to receive an intensive training and practice (ITAP) grant, providers must ensure that the majority of their content in this area supports trainees in adaptive teaching and meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Initial teacher training (ITT) providers that do not meet this requirement will not be eligible to receive ITAP grant funding.

ITT sector leaders have raised concern about the timing of the change because many providers have already planned their programmes for the next academic year.

The ITAP grant is DfE funding used by teacher training providers to teach core areas of the ITT curriculum.

The funding change comes as the government is carrying out major reforms of the education system aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive to pupils with SEND.

DfE minister Georgia Gould, who has been leading the reforms, warned that teacher training was a “huge issue” in SEND reform last year.

New conditions for ITAP training grant

The DfE published updated expectations last month, which indicated a move towards more SEND content.

Trainees spend a minimum of four weeks (postgraduates) or six weeks (undergraduates) in intensive training.

Providers that do not tailor their ITAP content to SEND and adaptive teaching will not be eligible to receive grant funding, the government has confirmed in its latest grant funding document.

To be eligible for the grant, ITT providers can either provide ITAP on specific SEND-related teaching elements, such as working with pupils who have challenges in executive function, or they can “weave a lens of SEND and adaptive teaching throughout the content”.

The guidance says this would include considering how approaches to teaching and supporting pupils with SEND are part of ITAP focus areas such as classroom routines, questioning or scaffolding.

Providers should confirm that trainees are supported in adaptive teaching and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND in the majority of ITAP days.

The guidance states that ITAP grant rates will remain the same as in the 2025-26 academic year: £204 per trainee for postgraduates, £298 per trainee for undergraduates.

Emma Hollis, chief executive of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, said: “Some members were initially concerned about the short notice, the interpretation of terms such as ‘majority’ and ‘woven throughout’, and the potential administrative and assurance burden.

“Many providers had already planned their 2026-27 programmes, so there was understandable anxiety about whether significant changes would be required at a late stage.”

While she acknowledged that the DfE has made clarifications, Ms Hollis added that “some concerns remain about how the requirements will be interpreted in practice”.

Lead mentor grant funding cut

Lead mentor funding for ITT providers will be cut from the 2026-27 academic year, 91���� understands.

Accredited ITT providers could previously claim funding to help with the costs associated with embedding the lead mentor role.

Ms Hollis said: “Many providers were, understandably, disappointed by the cessation of lead mentor funding, and this will inevitably have a material impact on provider budgets.

“The lead mentor role remains an important and substantial requirement within the ITT criteria, and providers will now need to absorb the associated costs within already constrained programme budgets.”

SEND teacher training ‘huge issue’

As part of the government’s landmark SEND reforms, all school staff and teachers are set to receive training on SEND and inclusion.

Ms Gould, who has been retained in the DfE following the government reshuffle under new prime minister Andy Burnham, has previously expressed concern about how teachers are trained in SEND and inclusion.

Speaking last year, she said: “We also recognise that [there are] wider changes needed, and teacher training comes up as a huge issue in almost every conversation that we’ve had. We made some changes to that already, [and there is] definitely more to do in that area.”