The TDA works to reduce the burdens that are placed on many initial teacher training (ITT) providers to meet the inspection requirements of the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted). Working in partnership with Ofsted, we have agreed progressively more targeted inspection requirements, while ensuring that the quality of ITT provision is continually improved, not merely maintained.

Between 2002 and 2007, these revised arrangements helped Ofsted reduce the overall time it spends on inspections by 40 per cent, which consequently reduced ITT providers’ time commitments. These savings were achieved by concentrating resources on the institutions that need the most support and guidance, while taking a lighter approach to those that consistently deliver to the highest standards.

Today, Ofsted spends barely a third of the time inspecting ITT providers that it did five years ago. And providers now have more time and resources to deliver higher-quality training.

Our efforts have been recognised by the Higher Education Regulation Review Group, which described our work with Ofsted as, "a particularly good example of an approach that fully embodies the principles of the [burden reducing] Concordat".