Teacher services

Overview

I worked on two projects during my time at DfE.

The first was the redesign of the Teacher Self-Service Portal, a platform that allows teachers to view and download their qualification certificates, check their teaching status, and update personal details.

The second was the development of the DfE Identity Account, a single sign-on solution to securely verify user identity and provide access to multiple DfE services under one account.

What was delivered

Project 1 – Access your teaching qualification service
(formerly Teacher Self-Service Portal)

Before beginning the redesign, we conducted user research sessions with teachers to understand how they used the existing service and what their core needs were. This helped us identify key user tasks and highlight limitations in the legacy system.

Using the GOV.UK Design System, I designed and prototyped the new service, ensuring it was accessible, tested, and aligned with user expectations. Based on the research insights, we removed outdated features and focused on what mattered most—quick and easy access to teaching certificates. We introduced the ability to print and download certificates and added functionality for teachers to update personal details such as their name, a task that previously required contacting support—reducing the burden on DfE’s helpdesk.

Project 2 – DfE Identity account service

The goal of the DfE Identity Account was to simplify and secure access to DfE services by replacing multiple login systems with a single identity solution. This meant teachers no longer needed to manage several usernames and passwords across different platforms.

To support this, I created detailed journey maps and service blueprints that illustrated how the Identity Account would integrate across multiple DfE teacher services. These artefacts also defined the data points required to verify a teacher’s identity—ensuring the solution was secure, easy to use, and scalable.

When registering for a DfE account to access a service, teachers were asked to provide key data points—name, date of birth, National Insurance number, and Teacher Reference Number—which were matched against existing DfE records. Once verified, a DfE Identity Account was created, giving them secure, streamlined access to multiple services.

The solution improved overall security, reduced the risk of duplicate or fraudulent accounts, and provided a much smoother login experience. After setup, users could access any DfE service using just their email address and a one-time password.

A prototype of the service was built to test with users and understand how easy or difficult it was to complete key tasks. The insights gathered during user research helped us identify pain points and improve the overall experience.

Outputs include

• A working prototype of the DfE Identity Account for testing and development

• Journey maps showing user flows and service integration points

Video overview