Commenting on the opening of the Department for Education’s
consultation: Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and
Improving Career Progression for Teachers, Kevin Courtney, Joint
General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The National Education Union welcomes the Government’s
announcement of plans to improve professional support for
teachers. The focus on improved training, and on meeting both
early and later career needs of teachers shows that members’
concerns have been heard by the Department. If the evidence shows
that the Government are indeed dedicated to the provision of a
core, structured early career framework supporting broader career
progression, and to widening access to CPD and stronger
mentoring, then we welcome their commitment to investing in the
profession.
“Increasing demands on teachers make the need for training and
support ever more acute. High quality support and training is an
important part of the answer to the current teacher supply
crisis.
“We share the Government’s hope that these proposals can tackle
these issues but of course the proof will be in the pudding; it
will depend on whether the promised additional training during
the first years is properly resourced and funded and is of
high-quality, providing valuable skills, knowledge and
understanding and adding value to the qualification. It will also
depend on reducing teacher workload, and properly funding
schools, so that teachers have the time to undertake professional
development and follow the planned progression routes. It will
also need a coherent accredited framework of high-quality
provision.
“There is a lot of potential in this proposed initiative; we will
work for our members so that this potential has the opportunity
to be realised. The Government has said that it is committed to
learning from the profession; these proposals cannot succeed
unless they continue to do so; whether it’s learning from the
profession about what works and what doesn’t, what content should
be included in the early career training framework and why
teachers stay in or leave the profession.”
