The government is to finally publish its much-delayed reports into initial teacher training and professional development.
Three expert groups were commissioned last year to look closely at initial teacher training (ITT), following an initial review by Sir Andrew Carter.
Originally expected to report much earlier in the year, the groups were tasked with looking at three issues: the core content of teacher training; behaviour management training for trainees; and a set of standards for school-based ITT mentors.
Schools minister Nick Gibb has now made a statement to parliament announcing the documents will be released today.
A fourth expert report into the continuous professional development of teachers was also due out earlier in the year. Leader of that report, David Weston, chief executive of the Teacher Development Trust, tweeted that the report will also be published today.
In his statement, schools minister Nick Gibb said the first group — commissioned to review the content of teacher training — had created a “framework” of content which will be a requirement for organisations offering training places in future.
Further details about new criteria for allocating teacher training places from September 2017 onwards “will be published shortly”, according to the statement.
The report into behaviour management, led by teacher Tom Bennett, is due to set out recommendations for the way behaviour management training should be delivered during initial teacher training.
The third report will reveal new mentor standards which Gibb said are designed to “bring consistency” to the role of school-based mentors for trainee teachers, whose numbers are increasing as a result of more teacher training occurring in schools via programmes such as Teach First and School Direct.
Gibb said in his statement the reports are “an important step” towards realising the government’s goals of “further improving the quality of teacher training and raising the status of the teaching profession”.
He said copies of the documents would now be placed in the House of Commons library.
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UPDATE: The initial teacher training reports are now available online along with the government’s response
UPDATE: Professional development standards now also published
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