Fitness to teach assessment

It is a statutory requirement under The Education Act (2002) for the health of all applicants to teaching courses to be assessed by training providers. The standards used to assess against are specified in The Education (Health Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 and the current Initial teacher training (ITT): criteria and supporting advice.

The aim of the fitness to teach requirements is to ensure that a future teacher has both the physical and mental fitness to perform their duties without putting children and young people at risk. However, there is also a duty on the University of Reading to ensure that health and safety or child protection requirements do not unlawfully discriminate against a disabled student (Equality Act 2010). People with disabilities or chronic illnesses may have the capacity to train to teach, just as those without disabilities or medical conditions may be unsuitable to train to teach.

Information from your health assessment can also help the University make well-informed decisions about any reasonable adjustments that may be necessary to help you to train to teach and to ensure that all agreed adjustments and support are in place at the beginning of your course and for your placements.

Fitness to teach checks are the responsibility of the University for all undergraduate and postgraduate early years, primary, and secondary teacher trainees (including trainees recruited by our Lead Partner Schools). Cordell Health Ltd undertakes the screening process for physical and mental fitness to teach on behalf of the University.

How do I apply for my fitness to teach assessment?

Step 1:

You will need to make the payment for your fitness to teach assessment on the University’s online store. An email containing further information on how to do this will be sent to candidates that have accepted an offer from April onwards, as the fitness to teach assessment should not be carried out more than 6 months before your course starts.

The cost of the screening is currently £43.00.

Step 2:

On receipt of your payment, we will pass your contact details (email, contact address, and telephone number) to Cordell Health, which is the company that carries out the fitness to teach screening process on behalf of the University. Within the next 7 working days, you should receive an email from JENI@cordellhealth.co.uk with a link to access a pre-placement questionnaire. Once you have received the link, please complete the questionnaire as soon as possible.

To ensure you receive the link to the pre-placement questionnaire, please check your junk or spam folder just in case the email is redirected there.

Failure to disclose information

Please be aware that failure to disclose a condition which affects the fitness to teach assessment or giving false information, including appropriate information about health/medical problems which arise during training, may lead to a trainee being required to leave the course.

What happens once I have completed the pre-placement questionnaire?

Cordell Health will review your questionnaire and, once the review is complete, they will send you a certificate by email confirming the outcome of your fitness to teach assessment.

Cordell Health may need to contact you to request further information and/or arrange a follow-up telephone call. You may also be invited to attend an online or in-person assessment with a Specialist Occupational Health Practitioner, but this will only be necessary in a small number of cases.

If Cordell Health contact you to request further information, please respond to them as quickly as possible. You will not be able to enrol for your course in September unless your assessment has been completed and the outcome confirms your fitness to teach.

Outcome of your fitness to teach assessment

The outcome of your assessment will be one of three categories:

Fit for placement and study: Those who are in good health and do not have any condition(s) which may be likely to interfere with efficiency in teaching.

Fit for placement and study with adjustments: Those who are generally in good health but have a condition(s) which may be likely to interfere to some extent with their efficiency in teaching. The condition(s) is/are not serious enough to make the candidate totally unfit, and this category includes those whose disability/condition could require teacher training providers to make reasonable adjustments to enable them to provide effective and efficient teaching. Cordell Health will ask your permission to disclose your condition(s) to relevant staff at the University, so that the staff can discuss any necessary adjustments and offer you support in successfully completing your teacher training course.

Not fit for placement and study: Those who have a condition(s) that make(s) them unfit for the teaching profession. Candidates will not normally be included in this category unless they have a psychiatric or physical disorder which is likely to interfere seriously with regular and efficient teaching, or if they have a condition that may carry a risk to the safety or welfare of the pupils. In the event that you are assessed as not fit for placement and study, the University will not be able to confirm your teacher training place. The University has responsibility for ensuring that only trainees who are fit to teach remain on a programme, to ensure the health and safety of pupils.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your fitness to teach assessment, please direct your concerns to Cordell Health in the first instance as they will hold the health/medical information that informed the decision.

Who will have access to my pre-placement questionnaire and health/medical information?

The Admissions Team at the University will be able to track the progress of your assessment by securely accessing Cordell Health's online system, and the team will also receive a copy of the certificate that is sent to you confirming the outcome of your assessment. However, the University will not have access to the health/medical information that you provide on your pre-placement questionnaire.

If the outcome of your assessment is 'Fit for placement and study with adjustments', Cordell Health will ask for your permission to securely share the details of your condition(s) with relevant staff at the University such as your Programme Tutor, the University Disability Advisory Service, and Placement Services.

For full details of how the University handles your personal data, including data sharing and your rights under data protection legislation, please read our Privacy Notice.

Cordell Health will also give you further information on how they store and process your data as part of the assessment process.

Enrolled trainees

Once enrolled for your teacher training course, it is your responsibility to inform your tutor immediately of any change to your health which is likely to impact upon your fitness to teach status. You should contact your Personal Tutor or Programme Leader and a new fitness to teach assessment may be required.

Questions?

Please contact the Admissions Support Team if you have any questions about the process.