§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what responsibilities the Teacher Training Agency will have for the training of head teachers. [36273]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe Teacher Training Agency is responsible for the head teacher's leadership and management programme which supports the training and development of newly appointed head teachers. In addition, my right hon. Friend announced on 11 October 1995 that she has asked the TTA to establish a new national professional qualification for head teachers.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what qualification those who have undertaken head teacher training will receive; and which institutions will validate this qualification. [36272]
§ Mr. SquireI will ask the chairman of the Teacher Training Agency to write to the hon. Member about the qualifications received by those undertaking HEADLAMP training. Information about other courses which may be taken by head teachers is not centrally collected.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) which local education authorities conduct in-service training specifically for the needs of head teachers; and if these courses are continuing; [36278]
(2) what institutions provided courses for head teacher training prior to Headlamp; and which of those will continue to provide training under Headlamp. [36277]
§ Mr. SquireThis information was not collected centrally. A number of LEAs and other institutions are registered to provide courses under the Headlamp scheme. The register will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what surveys her Department has carried out into the training background of head teachers in the last five years; [36286]
(2) what surveys her Department has commissioned into the training background of head teachers in the last five years; [36286]
374W(3) which bodies commissioned and carried out the survey of secondary schools needs, "Developing Senior Managers"; and what use of this study has been made by her Department; [36269]
(4) what studies commissioned or carried out by local education authorities into the training background of head teachers her Department has evaluated in the last five years. [36288]
§ Mr. Squire"Developing Senior Managers" was commissioned by the Understanding British Industry's national education programmes unit, with support from Unilever, Ofsted and the Department for Education.
The research was undertaken by a private consultant. The findings of the survey have helped inform the Teacher Training Agency's development and implementation of the Headlamp scheme.
Other DFE-funded research projects, notably those reported in the school management task force publication "Effective Management in Schools", and the evaluation report of the head teacher mentoring programme, have provided information on head teachers' training and development needs. The Department funded through the task force a number of small projects undertaken by regional consortia of local education authorities which are outlined in "Project Reports 1989–1992: An Annotated Bibliography". Copies of these publications will be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. GunnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what advice she took in deciding to fund head teacher training on a voucher basis; [36276]
(2) with which organisations her Department consulted before initiating the Headlamp scheme for the training of head teachers. [36285]
§ Mr. SquireThe Headlamp scheme was announced following discussions with the Secondary Heads Association and the National Association of Head Teachers, and with advice from Ofsted. The then Secretary of State decided that, in order to secure the availability of adequate funding to newly promoted head teachers, a ring-fenced sum of £2,500 should be available to governing bodies with eligible head teachers. This funding can be claimed only against evidence of actual expenditure on eligible training and development activities.