HL Deb 04 June 1991 vol 529 cc38-9WA
Lord Renwick

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will list the colleges at which instruction is given in multi-sensory methods as part of the initial training of primary school teachers.

Baroness Blatch:

The department does not hold detailed statistics on particular teaching methods offered at individual initial teacher training (ITT) institutions. However, the Secretary of State's criteria for the accreditation of ITT courses require that on completion of their course all students should have developed the capacity to identify pupils with special educational needs or learning difficulties, and to understand the ways in which the potential of such pupils can be developed.

As I stated in my reply to my noble friend on 20th May 1991 (Official Report, col. WA 5), my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Fallon) has written to the Chairman of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CATE) about the training of teachers in how to identify and help pupils with dyslexia. CATE is giving attention to this issue in its current enquiry into the preparation of student teachers in the teaching of reading.