§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made on his proposals for the reform of the non-standard routes to qualified teacher status; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. RumboldMy right hon. Friend is today issuing draft regulations and a draft explanatory circular. Subject478W to the outcome of consultation on these, he plans to lay regulations before the House with a view to having the new arrangements in place by September.
The revised regulations replace the Education (Teachers) Regulations 1982 and are concerned, among other things, with new arrangements for the award of qualified teacher status (QTS), including the licensed teacher scheme; the specialist qualifications needed for teaching hearing or visually impaired pupils; the probationary service of qualified teachers; and the implementation of the European Community directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, as it applies to teachers.
The draft regulations and circular have benefited from responses to the consultation document on the reform of the routes to QTS which was issued last year.
The majority of those responding to that document supported the principle of the reform. My right hon. Friend is confident that the proposed new arrangements will provide a better framework within which to recruit and train the teachers in our schools in the 1990s.
Copies of the draft regulations and circular have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.