MARKET ENGAGEMENT FOR POSTGRADUATE TEACHER TRAINING APPLICATION SYSTEM

Tender description

DfE is building a new digital application service for postgraduate teacher training. This will be a DfE-owned and run service that will eventually replace the UCAS initial teacher training application service. The new Apply service will need to integrate with university student record systems and we want to work closely with vendors to ensure that it meets their needs and the needs of their customers. DfE would like to invite software vendors who are already supplying student record systems and those considering entering this market to a technical forum where we will share our plans in more detail: When: 14:30-16:30, 26 September 2019 Where: Farsight Consulting, 27-29 Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall, London SW8 1SY Additional information: Over the years it has become increasingly difficult to recruit and retain high quality teachers, however, demand continues to grow. Despite the high interest in joining the profession, not enough people progress to making an application and the process to become a teacher is complicated and burdensome. To help meet this challenge, DfE has decided to develop a new Apply service for postgraduate teacher training, which was formally announced in the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in January 2019. This will be a DfE-owned and run service that will eventually replace the UCAS initial teacher training application service. The Apply for postgraduate teacher training service will need to integrate with student record systems via a REST API and we want to ensure that providers who use student record systems receive a seamless experience managing applications through DfE Apply. We would like to work closely with vendors to ensure we deliver a viable data transfer mechanism that meets their needs and the needs of their customers. DfE are hosting a technical forum to share our plans in more detail and respond to any questions vendors may have. We would like to open the invite to vendors who are currently supplying student record systems and those who may be interested in joining the market in the future. When: 14:30-16:30, 26 September 2019 Where: Farsight Consulting, 27-29 Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall, London SW8 1SY The session will cover: • Background and context - what we are doing and why • A live demo of the Apply service, introducing the features to be delivered as part of the pilot • Our proposed approach to testing and integration environments for vendors developing API clients for the new service • Ways of working with third party suppliers. For example, regular product Show & Tells, technical forums and developer slack channels. • How we will manage dual-running applications with UCAS • A pre-mortem; proactively discussing Risks and mitigations to product delivery, plus any underlying policy related assumptions