Teachers (Hansard, 30 October 1984)

§ Sir Keith Joseph

The Government's plans are set out in the White Paper "Teaching Quality" (Cmnd. 8836). They include improvements in the content and structure of initial training, the development of further training (with direct Government grants for national priorities), measures to promote a better match between qualifications and the needs of schools, and promoting arrangements for assessing teacher performance. We also seek to improve the selection and training of headteachers and other senior staff. Action has already been taken to strengthen initial teacher training through the issue of rigorous criteria for the assessment of courses and the establishment of a council for the accreditation of teacher education to review all existing courses against the criteria.