Context
When researching the needs of larger providers, we found they struggled to manage their long list of courses in Publish and had to maintain separate spreadsheets to keep track.
Pain points
They found it difficult to tell the difference between similar courses because:
they couldn’t identify courses based solely on the course name and code
course information ran together and couldn’t be easily compared
information was missing, such as start date, age range and if a course was fee-paying. (Age range was removed from the course name as part of the course naming policy).
open courses were in between courses which were closed or not currently being offered
User need
Larger providers need a way to easily find a particular course or group of courses in a long list, so they can take action such as update information or close the courses.
What we did
We improved how providers can view and compare courses by:
moving course information to a separate column
adding start date, age range and if a course was fee-paying
We improved how providers can see groups of courses (such as all open courses or all apprenticeship courses) by adding filters to the course list.
These improvements will also benefit smaller teacher training providers.
User testing
We tested the designs with larger providers in May 2026, and it tested well.
Participants found it easier to find courses, tell the difference between courses and tailor the list to suit their needs and processes.
Next steps
We will be building these changes into the service and aim have them live for the rollover period this year.