Your role as an ITE provider
Initial Teacher Education is the foundation for future teachers, giving them the necessary skills, knowledge, and practices to thrive in their first teaching roles.
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Special Programme Change Process to support ITE programmes
You can read about the Special Programme Change Process to support ITE programmes to adapt to the 2026 Standards.
Building the foundation for future teachers
Today the challenge of being a teacher is more complex than ever before. Initial Teacher Education (ITE) plays a pivotal role in ensuring our teaching workforce is well-prepared to meet this challenge by developing the skills and knowledge of student teachers, so they learn how to respond to the needs of diverse learners, their whānau | families and communities.
ITE is also a key contributor to the ongoing development of the teaching profession through its research, innovation and partnership work with early learning services, kura and schools. As tertiary education providers, ITE programmes and the staff who work within them are well-placed to share the most recent research evidence about effective teaching practice. Research-informed ITE shapes the sector alongside education policy, allowing new teachers to bring fresh perspectives to their teaching, whether this is in an early learning service, kura or school, as well as disseminating innovative research ideas that can be practically applied to an experienced teacher’s practice.
Our ITE system is on a multi-year voyage of change, but it’s focus remains clear - to prepare every graduate teacher with the skills to adapt to a changing education environment, underpinned by the 2026 Standards for the Teaching Profession. Collectively we want to see an ITE system which embraces and reflects the unique sociocultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand.
This means ITE programmes must be carefully designed and delivered so that by graduation, student teachers are culturally competent, skilled and knowledgeable practitioners who can comfortably navigate a range of learning contexts and support the learning needs of a diverse range of learners.
ITE and the Standards
As an ITE provider, the Teaching Council will work with you to ensure your programmes are dynamic, reflective, and responsive to evolving educational needs. The aim is to build a system that embraces Aotearoa New Zealand's unique sociocultural context and equips future teachers.
Providers play a critical role in shaping programmes so that graduates can meet the Standards | Ngā Paerewa from day one in their new teaching career.
The standards currently in force are Ngā Paerewa | Standards for the Teaching Profession 2017. However, from 2027, all ITE programmes will be required to prepare graduates to meet the new 2026 Standards (in a supported environment).
ITE programmes that have approved in relation to the 2017 Standards will undertake a Special Programme Change Process to support them to adapt to the 2026 Standards.
The role of the ITE Programme Requirements
Due to this, all provider programmes must be approved by the Teaching Council and meet the ITE Programme Requirements policy (the framework for ITE programme approval).
The requirements:
- Support ITE programme design that is reflective of Aotearoa New Zealand learners and better equips graduates for the setting they are likely to be employed in
- Give employers of graduates confidence that they have the teaching knowledge, skills and professional attitudes to provide quality education for learners and can adapt their practice to different contexts and new situations as their experience grows
- Allow providers to design programmes that will be innovative to meet the diverse needs of graduates and learners, and have the ability to attract new people into programmes
- Enable opportunities for ITE students to have teaching experiences across their professional experience placements.
ITE programmes are designed to make sure newly qualified teachers are well equipped to meet the learning needs of learners when they start teaching, acknowledging that they will continue their learning and development throughout their careers (beginning with an induction programme in the first two years of teaching) which will see their skills, knowledge and practice develop over time.
You can read more about the ITE Programme Requirements here.
Support future teachers: My Rawa
My Rawa partners with you to prepare future teachers for success. With access to standards, expectations, and practical tools, it supports confident, connected, and capable graduates.
