Written statement: Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status and Improving Career Progression for Teachers Consultation: Government Response

On Friday 4 May 2018, the Government published its response to the recent consultation on ‘Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status and Improving Career Progression for Teachers’.

This consultation closed on 8 March, and had over 2,000 written responses. The majority of responses agreed with the case to strengthen support that teachers receive in the early stages of their career. This is in addition to finding more effective ways of enabling teachers to access high quality Continuing Professional Development throughout their careers.

The Government response sets out how we will take this work forward, including:

• Increasing the length of the induction period for teachers from one year to two years;
• Developing an Early Career Framework of support and mentoring, which will create a better and more consistent induction experience for all new teachers;
• Exploring the creation of new qualifications for experienced classroom teachers, alongside work to consider how we can make the existing Continuing Professional Development market easier to navigate for schools and teachers; and,
• Piloting a sabbatical fund for experienced teachers.

As this work is developed further, we will work with teachers, school leaders, and education experts. We will also ensure that improving continuing professional development for teachers aligns closely with wider work on the recruitment and retention of teachers.