The UCET Intellectual Base of Teacher Education (UCET, 2020) states that high-quality teacher education ‘encourages a lifelong commitment to the education profession and pays careful attention to the factors that promote a healthy learning environment for teachers and learners’ (p.2). Currently, data suggests that many of our student teachers are not living in healthy environments.

The number of students experiencing poverty is becoming a major concern, with many universities reporting increased demand for support with basic living expenses, food banks and emergency financial assistance. More recent findings from the National Union of Students (2024), referring to university students more broadly, indicated that 41% rely on financial help from family and 54% have reduced their food spending. In addition, most undergraduate and postgraduate students in England now undertake part-time work to support themselves financially (NUS, 2024). The NUS (2024) data for the wider student population shows that three-in-five students are employed alongside their studies; one third of these work more than 20 hours per week. Sixty one percent of working students say their job negatively affects their studies, with 9% reporting a major impact.

There is no national data set specifically focused on student teachers, poverty and employment, and the lack of research in this area is a pressing issue in itself (Mclaren et al., 2025). However, given the additional financial pressures that student teachers face, including the cost of travelling to school placements, it is reasonable to assume that these figures and trends apply to student teachers, and potentially at even higher rates. The NUS also notes that financial pressures are more acute for postgraduate students, who make up the majority of student teachers.

We know from our own work with student teachers in the North of England that financial and employment pressures are a significant issue. We hear from student teachers frequently about unexpected costs such as car repairs and emergency childcare, as well as the rising costs of living that make their well-planned finances suddenly inadequate. One of our student teachers told us that despite carefully planning childcare plans for the whole PGCE period, (including back-up plans), emergency childcare was needed during their first placement which meant they could not afford to pay the mortgage and bills. Another told us that car repairs meant that without an emergency loan from the university, they would need to withdraw from the programme. In both cases, the universities concerned stepped in to provide emergency funding, but these situations are becoming more common and even with a solution, are stressful. These are the hidden costs of training.

Specific issues that we have identified that are affecting student teachers include:

• travel costs, car maintenance;
• Rising costs of living, including food prices, energy and fuel;
• Wellbeing whilst holding down a job alongside UG/PG ITE study, especially for non or low ITT bursary student teachers;
• Caring responsibilities (children, siblings, parents) where childcare and social care are no longer an option in the area the student teacher lives;
• Regional disparities in terms of accommodation costs, and rising housing costs generally.

Given the above geographical and contextual threats to recruitment and retention, we would like to pose some questions for policymakers and for the UCET membership:

• Are we currently pricing out some graduates from entering the profession? What research is being done on the lived experience of student teachers who are not given financial support to train?
• How can we continue to diversify the profession when some do not qualify for ITT bursary support?
• Do we run the risk of making our profession elitist, with only those with financial support able to successfully navigate the non-academic demands of the ITE training period?