§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will give a breakdown of the average proportions of SCITT funding that are directed to the(a) HE partner, (b) school and (c) mentor. [70229]
§ Mr. MilibandMost SCITTs are formed only from groups of schools working in a consortium. It is the consortium that gains accreditation, receives the funds and decides how the funds are distributed to manage and run the training programme. Some choose to buy in services from a higher education institution but they are not obliged to do so. Most choose to reward the staff involved in school-based tutoring by providing release time or with remuneration. In all cases, no central rules or regulations are set down.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action she plans to ensure that schools and mentors receive an appropriate proportion of SCITT funding. [70230]
§ Mr. MilibandIt is for the teacher training provider to decide how best to allocate its funds to deliver initial teacher training (ITT), including what element of available resources to provide to support mentor training and mentoring activities across schools.
The Teacher Training Agency (ITA), which has responsibility for teacher training matters, does not regulate the day-to-day management of ITT providers, including SCITTs. The quality of the training provided, including the quality of the management, is subject to
365Wperiodic inspection by Ofsted. Providers would be expected to take action to address problems which affect the achievements of trainees.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy to increase the number of schools involved in SCITT programmes. [70228]
§ Mr. MilibandWe welcome proposals from consortia of schools to become accredited providers of initial teacher training (ITT). Revised accreditation criteria were introduced last year following a consultation period. These should strengthen the SCITT sector by ensuring proposers of new provision understand the commitment they need to make to secure quality and viability and that they develop robust proposals. The further growth of the sector will depend on how many groups of schools can meet this challenge.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many SCITT schemes have been funded; and how many graduate teachers they have yielded in each of the last three years. [70231]
§ Mr. Miliband30 SCITT schemes were funded in 1998–99, 36 in 1999–2000 and 46 in 2000–01. In 1998–99, 555 trainees were awarded qualified teacher status (QTS), of whom 483 gained teaching posts; in 1999–2000, 624 trainees were awarded QTS, of whom 569 gained teaching posts; and in 2000–01, 762 trainees were awarded QTS, of whom 708 gained teaching posts.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy to extend school centred initial teacher training to include people other than postgraduates in certain clearly defined circumstances. [69680]
§ Mr. MilibandIt is Government policy that teaching will remain an all-graduate profession. This policy applies to all types of provider of initial teacher training (ITT), including school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers.
Around 25 per cent. of the ITT places allocated to teacher training providers are for undergraduate courses. No SCITT providers currently offer undergraduate ITT. There is however nothing in principle to prevent them from offering such courses providing they meet the standards for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and requirements for the provision of ITT.
Other non-graduate ITT may be offered through the Registered Teacher Programme. This is an employment based route to QTS whereby unqualified teachers are employed by schools, having completed two years of higher education and receive training for QTS while studying for the award of a degree. Provision is managed by a recommending body, which may be different to the school offering the training, and applications are considered on a case by case basis.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what policy she has to increase the opportunity for students on the school centred initial teacher training scheme to work with professionals outside their designated school. [69683]
§ Mr. MilibandThe standards for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and requirements for the provision of initial teacher training (ITT) are set out in366W the publication "Qualifying to Teach". These come into effect from 1 September 2002. The standards are the same no matter what route an individual trains under, and offer opportunity for trainees to gain experience in a variety of settings.
The standards include the requirement that trainee teachers have experience in at least two schools and also that those awarded QTS must demonstrate that they understand the contribution that support staff and other professionals make to teaching and learning. Trainees may well work with a range of professionals, such as social workers, educational psychologists, education welfare officers and health professionals during their training in order to demonstrate that they have met the standards.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to strengthen the partnerships between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of school centred initial teacher training. [69681]
§ Mr. MilibandMany schools and higher education institutions (HEIs) already have strong links in the provision of teacher training. Most school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers offer a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) to their trainees, alongside the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and these are validated by HEIs. Some HEIs are integral partners in SCITT consortia and several HEIs act as managing agents to the consortia.
The Teacher Training Agency, which has responsibility for teacher training issues, is working with all providers to increase schools' capacity to deliver teacher training in partnership with ITT providers, including HEIs and schools.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase the funding of school centred initial teacher training. [69686]
§ Mr. MilibandThe mainstream unit of funding for all providers of initial teacher training (ITT), including school-centred ITT (SCITT) providers, has increased by 3.5 per cent. each year for the past two academic years. This represents an increase in real terms over the past two years.
SCITT providers are eligible for start-up funding of up to £30,000 over their first two years of operation and can also bid for capital funding of up to £20,000 a year to support the purchase of equipment, materials and to upgrade accommodation. The capital budget for SCITTs increased by over 10 per cent. between 2001–02 and 2002–03.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to improve(a) the administration and (b) the evaluation of school-centred initial teacher training. [69685]
§ Mr. MilibandThe new inspection framework for monitoring the quality of initial teacher training (ITT) will come into effect from September 2002. The framework places increasing importance on the management, administration and quality assurance of training delivered by all ITT providers, including school-centred provision.
367WFurthermore, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), which has responsibility for teacher training matters, undertakes stringent risk analysis and auditing procedures of all SCITTs to ensure that they manage and administer their funding in line with best practice.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to improve the consistency of quality of training given under the school-centred initial teacher training scheme. [69684]
§ Mr. MilibandThe quality of training delivered by all accredited providers of initial teacher training (ITT), including school-centred ITT, is inspected by Ofsted. The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) has responsibility for teacher training issues and, as part of its statutory function, it uses Ofsted evidence of the overall quality of provision to determine the allocation of teacher training places to providers.
All providers are required to submit to Ofsted and the TTA an action plan setting out how they would implement inspection findings. The TTA and Ofsted work closely with the provider to implement the plan.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional support she will give to schools to help in the delivery of school-centred initial teacher training. [69682]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Teacher Training Agency (TTA), which has responsibility for teacher training matters, offers a range of support to school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers. SCITTs are eligible for start-up funding over their first two years of operation and can also bid for capital funding to support the purchase of equipment, materials and to upgrade accommodation. The capital budget for SCITTs increased by over 10 per cent. between 2001–02 and 2002–03.
The TTA also offers partnership funding to schools providing ITT, which can be used to provide training for school-based mentors and school staff. The Agency's work to promote school involvement in teacher training should help improve the quality of school-based placements.