Teacher Training (Hansard, 8 February 1984)

§ Baroness Faithfull
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, the Government set out their plans for improving the quality of newly-trained teachers in England and Wales in the White Paper Teaching Quality of March 1983. Following advice from the Advisory Committee on the Supply and Education of Teachers on how those plans might be developed, a draft circular was sent out in December, which sought comments on a proposal to establish a Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. It is our intention that this council should assess initial teacher training courses against certain criteria set out in the draft circular, and should subsequently advise the Secretary of State on whether these courses have procedures to select students of appropriate quality and offer a suitable professional preparation for intending teachers. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, there is equal concern for improving the quality of teachers and separate consideration is being given to the needs of those systems.

§ Baroness Faithfull
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that reply. May I ask him whether, when principals of teacher training colleges interview students, they take into account the will, the capacity and the commitment of any student to teach multiracial classes? Secondly, do they take into account the capacity of a student to be aware of those children with problems in school which are indicative of problems in the home, so that those children can be helped to benefit by education?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I am aware of my noble friend's keen interest in the ethnic minorities from her membership of the Swann Committee. She will know that some newly trained teachers are well prepared for teaching in a multi-ethnic community—others are less so. The draft criteria stressed that potential students should be selected on the basis of personal as well as intellectual qualifications, and that courses should prepare them to teach the full range of pupils with their diversity of ethnic and cultural origins.
So far as children with special educational needs and those coming from adverse home conditions are 1145 concerned, as I have said the criteria stressed the importance of candidates' personal qualities and encouraged the selection of students with previous experience of work within the community or with children. We have also proposed that all students should be introduced during their initial training to ways of identifying children with special needs. Their training should help them appreciate what the ordinary school can and cannot do for such children, and give them some knowledge of the specialist help available and how it could be enlisted.

§ Lord Taylor of Blackburn
My Lords, can the Minister give us some indication of the timing before the advisory committee makes a recommendation, and when the Secretary of State will present some statute before us?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, it is hoped that advice back from the various bodies concerned will be received by the middle of this month. It is also hoped that the new advisory committee will be established as soon as possible after April this year.

§ Lord Renton
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that, in addition to what he has said about the need for training teachers of children with special needs, there is a great need for more teachers specially and fully trained for teaching the mentally handicapped? Will he bear in mind that at the Stockport College of Technology there is an excellent two-year course—I think the only one of its kind now going on—and will he, having made those inquiries, do what he can to see that there are more of such courses introduced elsewhere?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend Lord Renton for drawing my attention to that fact. I shall, indeed, take special note of what he has said and see what I can learn from it.

§ Lord Alexander of Potterhill
My Lords, does the Minister think it worthwhile making some inquiries as to why, when teachers received two years' training, the standards of teaching were higher than they now seem to be when they receive four years' training?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I think that this is very much the reason for these proposals and consultations. The Government are determined that the standards shall improve greatly in the future.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether in the training of students it would be a great help to them if the respective roles of the education welfare services and the social services were defined more clearly, so that when they begin teaching in schools, teaching mixed ethnic races as well as children with home deprivation, they will know where they can apply for help?

§ The Earl of Swinton
Yes, my Lords. In fact, my right honourable friend mentioned this in his much-quoted speech at Sheffield in January. Indeed, my right honourable friend intends to ask local authorities in the near future to review the priorities and approaches of their education welfare services. These 1146 services are developed in different ways and the emphasis placed on their primary function, relating to school attendance, varies between authorities. The proposed review should do much to clarify the role of education welfare services, not least in relation to social service departments.

Baroness Vickers
My Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether, in view of the growing importance of foreign languages, there has been an increase in the number of such teachers?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I cannot give a detailed answer on whether there are more or fewer foreign language teachers. I shall have to write to my noble friend with that information.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, I wonder whether the Minister can tell us how it is, if the Government claim to be sincere about the importance of teaching ethnic minorities, and indeed teaching British children about ethnic minorities, that they wound up the Development Education Committeee which was set up partly for this specific purpose and was destroyed by this Government? Can he add—and if he does not have the details perhaps he will write to me—how many teacher training colleges and institutes of education are teaching specifically the cultures of the ethnic minorities? I am thinking of places like Balls Park in Hertfordshire and Jordanhill in Scotland. How many are there in the country?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, I shall be delighted to write to the noble Lord with that information.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, will the noble Earl answer my first question?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, it was so long ago that I cannot remember what it was.

§ Lord Hatch of Lusby
My Lords, the question was simply: If the Government are sincere about the teaching of the ethnic minorities, and about teaching British children the cultures of ethnic minorities, why did they wind up the Development Education Committee which was set up under a Labour Government in the Ministry of Overseas Development and was specifically designed for this purpose?

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, the Government are sincere, but I am afraid that I have absolutely no answer whatsoever to the noble Lord's question. I shall answer him in the same letter.

§ The Lord President of the Council (Viscount Whitelaw)
My Lords, it is my duty to the whole House to point out that we have now taken 30 minutes on Questions. I have had many representations from noble Lords in all parts of the House about the fact that we are now taking too long on Questions and it is my duty to point that out. Of course, I rely on the good sense of noble Lords to achieve some shortening of the period that we are now taking.