FEATURE
DO WE REALLY NEED A SHAKE-UP OF INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING? In this article, Clive Hill explains the case for ITT reform, despite the understandable opposition to it from stakeholders across the education sector. By Clive Hill
Rushing to put this consultation into action is ill-advised; sustainable transformation is measured and takes time.
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ducation has been a politicalfootball for far too long, so it is good to see that consultations are being made with stakeholders from across the ITT delivery sector. The ITT Market Review takes into account the experiences of those coming into the profession, going some way to attempt to plug the haemorrhaging retention figures seen within the first fiveyears of teaching. ITT providers have a critical role to play in this. Honest and thorough conversations need to be had to ensure that we maintain the independence of academia within the educational sector, while ITT is simultaneously informed by those at the ‘chalkface’ who mentor trainees and Early Career Teachers, tempering the ideals of academia against the anvil of classroom teaching. HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Classroom teachers need to have this discourse with our university partners. We require academic rigour to maintain our professional status, in a career that is centred on us as teachers, being ambassadors for academia, to the next generation. But the DfE also needs to listen to the entire sector before rushing in head-first. If we are looking to the ITT Core Content Framework to be the far-reaching historic shake-up of teacher-training that it has the potential to be, then it must be done in a manner that does not disrupt the influx of teachers into the profession. Proceeding at pace will likely create gaps in ITT provision, jeopardising the stability of the sector, which will detrimentally impact schools and consequently the education of children across the country. We must avoid this.
The importance of the ITT Core Content Framework Reading the ITT Core Content Framework it is clear that both University, Independent, and Schoolbased ITT providers have been at the centre of the consultation. As someone that benefitted from one of the trials of funding for a school-based mentor and extra PPA-time that fed into the offer now available for ECTs, I see the benefits for the extra entitlement of a structured package of support for future teachers. After all, it takes new teachers a lot more time to plan, asses and do everything else, compared to more seasoned staff. The pressure caused by this is a major reason why many of them leave so early in their careers.
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