§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment he has made of the OFSTED audit of initial teacher training in physical education; [34202]
485W(2) what steps his Department has taken to assess the sports coaching skills of in-service teachers; [34203]
(3) what steps he has taken since 1 May 1997 to encourage teachers to obtain recognised sports coaching qualifications; [34204]
(4) what plans the Government have to introduce coaching weeks for teachers; [34205]
(5) what is the sport content of the Initial Teacher Training requirement. [34222]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Government have not yet received OFSTED's report of its audit into the coverage of physical education in primary initial teacher training. However, it is for individual providers of initial teacher training to decide the extent to which physical education is covered in their courses. Our new requirements for initial teacher training, which I announced last June, will allow trainees to specialise across the 7 to 11 age range. From this September, for the first time primary teachers will be able to specialise in physical education as part of their course.
The Government continue to attach importance to ensuring that good teaching raises pupils' standards in all subjects, including physical education. The Teacher Training Agency is supporting relevant developments in in-service training for classroom teachers and those with leadership responsibility for physical education in our schools. Officers from the Agency are advising the subject associations, the British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education, and the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom as they develop subject-specific exemplifications of the National Professional Standards.