Million Plus

Responding to an announcement by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, that he has invited Andrew Carter, the head of a teaching school and a member of the Teaching Schools Council to review initial teacher training courses, Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of the university think-tank million+ said:

“Mr Gove continues to think that university education departments are the problem rather than a solution to ensuring that schools throughout the country have highly qualified teachers in the classroom.”

“When schools are reporting increasing difficulties in recruiting teachers and Ministers have said that there is already the best generation of teachers working in classrooms today, there has to be a concern that this review is a smokescreen. The short timescale of a review that will sample 700 ITT courses delivered by School Direct, universities and SCITTs across the country also seems unrealistic.”

“Universities will want assurances that the review will take a balanced approach but they will also need to be convinced that this is not just designed to divert attention away from the government’s ambition to create 600 teaching schools by 2016 and divert more teaching training numbers away from higher education.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors
1. For further information or to arrange an interview, contact Victoria Robinson, Press and Communications Officer, million+ on 020 7717 1658 / 07527 336 795 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk.
2. million+ is a leading university think-tank. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk.