DfE calls for research to refresh flagship teacher training reforms

The government is seeking research to improve the initial teacher training (ITT) and early career frameworks.

In a call for evidence, published today, the Department for Education (DfE) said it planned to revise the frameworks so that they are “more closely combined”.

Academic researchers, education experts and charities have been invited to submit “recent, relevant and high-quality” research that could inform amendments.

But the government said it did not expect “this will involve a fundamental rewrite of the frameworks”.

When the ITT core content framework (CCF) and early career frameworks (ECF) were launched in 2019, the department said it would update them as research progressed.

The CCF sets out the minimum entitlement for all trainee teachers and the content that ITT providers must include in their programmes.

The ECF underlines what early career teachers are entitled to learn about during the first two years of their careers.

Both frameworks were independently reviewed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in an effort to ensure they drew on the “best available” evidence.

The aim of revisions is to ensure the frameworks are up to date and “fit for purpose”, the DfE said.

Decisions about changes will be made by the department and panels of experts.

New research will be independently assessed by the EEF “on the basis of whether it is robust, relevant and helpfully supplements” existing evidence.

DfE is hoping to hear from individuals or organisations with specialist expertise in education.

This also includes special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) charities and research organisations such as universities.

The call for evidence closes on April 21, with the DfE saying it will then issue a response with information about the evidence received and how it will be used.