Thousands of teachers across the country will benefit from
additional training thanks to multi-million pound professional
development fund, the Education Secretary announced (14
September).
Six leading organisations, including the Teacher Development
Trust, Teach First and the Institute of Physics, will share a
fund worth almost £17million as part of the government’s drive to
support and spread great teaching.
The successful organisations – the first to benefit from the new
£75million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund - aim to
increase existing teachers’ skills, confidence and knowledge in a
range of areas including leadership and phonics and early
reading.
There will also be a focus on sharing best practice in the
teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths and the
creation of five professional development excellence hubs across
the country. These hubs, due to be set up in Blackpool,
Birmingham, Northumberland, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent and West
Sussex, will support individual schools in developing and
retaining the high-quality staff they need.
Education Secretary said:
We want to ensure every young person can reach their potential,
regardless of their background or where they are growing up,
and great teachers are at the heart of this.
This new fund proves our commitment to creating a culture of
high-quality ongoing professional development throughout a
teacher’s career.
I hope that thousands of teachers across the country will
benefit and I’m particularly pleased that we are targeting the
schools where it is needed most.
Many of the programmes announced today will also have a focus in
the 12 Opportunity Areas announced by the Education Secretary
last year. This will be a further boost for families living in
those areas, identified as social mobility ‘coldspots’.
The investment in the profession is part of the government’s
wider drive to build an education system that creates clear and
rewarding career pathways for the people entering and progressing
in teaching. It aims to provide support not just in those areas
that are already set up to succeed, but - more importantly - in
the areas where it is needed most.
Ndidi Okezie. Executive Director of Teach First said:
We are delighted to have been chosen by the Department of
Education as one of the providers for the Teaching and
Leadership Innovation Fund. Using a research informed approach
and drawing on our strong network of partners, we will work
collaboratively with schools in the areas of greatest need to
support the development of their leadership teams. This work
will be focused on making a real and sustained difference to
the lives of young people who need it the most.
Matt Hood, Director of the Institute for Teaching said:
Funding from the Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund will
enable us to deliver our Transforming Teaching Programme in
parts of the UK where it is needed most. The programme is part
of a suite of courses offered by the IfT all of which have a
sole purpose; to ensure teachers keep getting better.
We believe the best way to close the attainment gap between
disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers is by improving
teaching through better teacher training. That’s why we are
doing things differently - re-thinking teacher education and
providing a progression pathway to expertise that is taught by
a faculty of expert teacher educators. We welcome this
opportunity and look forward to having a positive impact on the
professional lives of teachers, and on the outcomes of pupils
in some of the country’s most disadvantaged areas.
Ruth Miskin from Ruth Miskin Training said:
This funding will help us to ensure that many more teachers can
become confident in how they teach phonics and reading. We will
work closely with schools in difficult areas to ensure we’re
reaching those children that need it most.
Wayne Jarvis, Aspire to STEM lead at STEM Learning, said:
We’re delighted to have received this funding from the
Department for Education to offer this programme. It gives
schools and colleges in some of the most at need areas in the
country an opportunity to improve their leadership and teaching
of STEM subjects to improve progress and attainment for their
students.
Charles Tracy, Head of Education at the Institute of Physics
said:
The IOP is working to give every student access to a high
quality physics education and the opportunity to make
well-informed choices about their future career. Many students
– including those in priority areas – miss out on the
opportunities that a good physics education provides because
they are unable to recruit and retain specialist physics
teachers.
The Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund represents a
much-needed opportunity to develop great teaching and
leadership in schools that need stability and support. The
Future Physics Leaders project will improve the recruitment and
retention of physics teachers in these schools. It will also
provide expert training and development for both specialist and
non-specialist physics teachers. As well as addressing the
national need for physicists and engineers, the project
provides an exciting opportunity to improve the educational and
physics experience of many thousands of young people.
David Weston, Chief Executive at the Teacher Development Trust
said:
We’re delighted to have this opportunity to work with schools
in the most economically challenged areas. Every teacher
deserves to be nurtured and developed so that they can thrive
in their roles and help children succeed at school. Through
this DfE-funded project we will be giving intensive support via
expert, regional hubs, to share and embed the best possible CPD
practices.
All of the bids were subject to a competitive and open bidding
process.
The first six successful projects include:
-
Ruth Miskin Training – continuing professional development to
support the teaching of phonics and early reading based on
Read Write Inc. Phonics. It is aimed at headteachers, middle
leaders, leadership teams, teachers and teaching assistants
in primary schools and is focused in the Opportunity Areas
and priority areas.
-
Teacher Development Trust - will create five continuing
professional development excellence hubs across the country –
to support schools to transform the way they design,
commission and implement training. These will be aimed at
headteachers and created in Blackpool, Northumberland,
Sheffield, Stoke and West Sussex.
-
STEM Learning Ltd - package to support STEM teachers’ subject
knowledge enhancement, STEM subject leadership and to support
STEM careers advice across Opportunity Areas.
-
The Institute for Teaching - a programme to raise the quality
of teaching – through support to leaders to improve the
culture and quality of teacher development and expertise in
developing other teachers.
-
Institute of Physics - support programme for physics teachers
– subject knowledge enhancement for non-specialists, subject
leadership/enhanced knowledge for specialists; and
mentoring/recruitment for NQTs.
-
Teach First - Leading Together will strengthen the leadership
teams in the schools and areas that need it the most. The
programme will develop resilient school leaders who work
together as part of strong leadership teams, focused on
training, developing and supporting high-quality teachers
across the school.
