§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what principal persons or bodies he consulted prior to making his recent decision concerning teacher training; and if he will place copies of these representations or conclusions in the Library, stating for each body or person concerned the extent and period of their experiences of(a) class teaching and (b) teacher induction;
(2) what consultation he has had with governors, trustees and religious and other non-statutory bodies that have current responsibility for the training of teachers concerning his proposals for teacher training; and what communication he has had with them collectively since assuming office concerning the nature, quality and practicality of teacher training courses;
(3) what communication he has had with principals of colleges of education and departments of education, or 451W any relevant representative body, concerning the nature, quality and practicality of the courses they provide for the training of teachers; and what consultation he has had with any representative body of heads of secondary schools concerning the new responsibilities he envisages for them in training teachers;
(4) if he will publish a White Paper setting out the general principles of the plans he has for the training of teachers in general, including statistical information related to his timing of the changes; and if the steps he intends taking will effect the courses leading to the postgraduate certificate in education due to take place in 1992–93.
§ Mr. FallonThe principal source of advice for the proposals announced by my right hon. and learned Friend in his speech to the north of England education conference was the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education—CATE. A list of CATE members has been placed in the Library. The proposals were also informed by a substantial report by Her Majesty's inspectorate on school-based initial teacher training in England and Wales, which has been published. Copies of this report have been placed in the Library.
The reasons for the proposals, the arrangements for consultation and the timetable for implementation were set out in my right hon. and learned Friend's speech. Copies of the speech have been sent to all higher education institutions in England and Wales which offer courses of initial teacher training and to many other organisations and individuals. A consultation document, setting out proposed new criteria for the approval of secondary postgraduate—PGCE—courses and proposed accreditation arrangements, will be issued soon. The consultation period will last until the end of March.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what effects on the staffing of institutes and colleges of education he expects to arise consequent on his recent proposals for changes in teacher training; what are the numbers of persons currently employed in such institutions in England and Wales(a) as professional staff and (b) as supporting personnel; and how many of each he expects to be retained if his plans are implemented.
§ Mr. FallonThe proposals for the reform of initial teacher training announced by my right hon. and learned Friend in his speech to the north of England education conference would involve a significant transfer in the burden of responsibility for initial teacher training as between higher education institutions and schools. The staffing implications are for institutions themselves to determine.
About 3,000 full-time equivalent staff are currently employed as lecturers and tutors on courses of initial teacher training at higher education institutions in England and Wales. Data on support staff are not held centrally.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those institutions concerned with the training of teachers in England and Wales he has visited, and for what purpose, since assuming office, together with relevant dates and approximate length of visit.
§ Mr. FallonMy right hon. and learned Friend made half-day visits to the school of education at Nottingham452W university and the department of education at Loughborough university last year on 2 May and 21 October respectively. On both visits he observed teacher training in practice and spoke with staff, students, local teachers and headteachers. He met staff and students in the school of education at Nene college as part of a general half-day visit to the institution on 3 October. He also made a short visit to Bretton Hall college on 19 July, during which he met staff responsible for teacher training courses at the college.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will tabulate in theOfficial Report the name of each teacher training centre or institution, listed under convenient categories in England and Wales, respectively, and for each show the type of course offered for graduate, postgraduate and higher degree qualifications, respectively, together with the approximate numbers of students in each category and the number of academic staff in each institution.
§ Mr. FallonThe names of English initial teacher training institutions, and enrolments on their ITT courses for 1989–90 are listed in tables 9 and 9a of the Department of Education's statistical bulletin 17/91—students on initial teacher training courses—published in July 1991. A copy of this is available in the Library.
No figures for numbers of academic staff are available for individual ITT institutions.