Million Plus

MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities, has today (4 May) welcomed the government’s response to the Department for Education’s Strengthening Qualified Teacher Status in England consultation.

Dr Greg Walker, Chief Executive of MillionPlus, said:

“We welcome today’s response from the government on QTS - they have listened to many of the consultation responses on the key issues and are now beginning to address them.  

“The MillionPlus submission sought a greater focus on, and access to, CPD for early-career teachers, and stressed the need for a more developed system of mentoring. We cautioned the government on some of the unintended consequences of policy decisions they could make when changing the timescales for awarding QTS. It is pleasing that the government has listened on these points: this is a clear step in the right policy direction.

“It remains important that we focus on a teacher’s entire career and not only on the early years, however we look forward to working with the government to help craft a system that will train and retain the teachers to meet England’s pressing needs in this critical area.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. MillionPlus is the Association for Modern Universities. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
2. Modern universities: key facts 2017
3. The government response is available here
4. In partnership with schools, modern universities educate our future teachers, with 62% of all students studying Initial Teacher Training doing so at a modern university
5. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Dan Blows on 020 7717 1658 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk