Programme requirements and approval

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Programme requirements  

Applying for approval 

List of approved programmes under the new requirements 

Programme requirements

Important note: All current ITE programmes must be approved by the Teaching Council under the new requirements no later than 1 January 2022. 

Download a digital copy of the new ITE Programme Approval, Monitoring and Review Requirements 

The new Requirements outline what is necessary for programme approval, monitoring and review. They represent a significant shift in the way teacher education programmes will be designed and delivered and how student teachers are assessed. 

They are primarily outcome-focused with provider discretion where appropriate, and seek to give schools, centre and kura greater assurance that ITE graduates are well prepared to be effective beginning teachers from day one on the job.  The new Requirements change the expectation around the kind of practical experience student teachers need, the nature of the coaching and support and the kind of assessments that will demonstrate they meet the Standards | Ngā Paerewa (in a supported environment).

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Applying for approval

The new online ITE portal allows providers to submit new programme applications in a secure environment. You can also edit contact and provider information, submit student exemptions and track the progress of applications. Find information on how to set up an ITE portal log in 

The basic steps for applying for approval of your programme are below, please contact your Teaching Council Lead Advisor for more detailed instructions and use the ITE provider toolkit for guidance when applying. 

Please note that your appointed Teaching Council Lead Advisor should be involved at each of these critical steps, as should NZQA evaluators in the case of PTE’s, wānanga, and polytechnic applications. 

1. Early programme design – formulating a conceptual framework towards initial teacher education and working with partners towards a shared sense of programme needs.  
2. Advanced programme design – programme partners consulted on aspects such as programme assessment, content, delivery and entry.  
3. Programme documentation submission - all documentation submitted to Council (and NZQA for NZQA co-approved providers) through the Council ITE portal. Teaching Council (and NZQA) staff perform desktop analysis of documentation.  
4. (On basis that documentation is sufficient) In cooperation with the provider, a panel of teaching professionals is convened to evaluate the application. This panel is usually convened on the providers campus, but in certain circumstances may be convened online.   
5. Panel gives a recommendation to Teaching Council (and NZQA where necessary) whether to approve, approve with conditions or decline the application. 

List of approved programmes under the new requirements

For a list of all approved initial teacher education programmes please refer to Teach NZ.

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