NEU comments on Ofsted report on Teaching Teachers

Commenting on evaluative report on how Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has worked during Covid-19, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

“Trainee teachers, like all students, have faced severely disrupted courses in the past two academic years due to the pandemic. Trainee teachers this year and last have struggled to get the classroom experience that is so crucial to building confidence in the role. Just as crucially, it has been exceptionally difficult for them to be supported effectively by schools this academic year with so much disruption to classes, with all teachers and leaders pushed to the limit. New and trainee teachers have been expected to get on with it in circumstances that have tested the most experienced professionals.

“We urge the Government to fully fund schools to deliver the practical support new teachers need to become confident and competent classroom practitioners, and not risk a further loss to the profession that the system can ill afford.”