teacher training | Schools Week

How schools can avoid social media teacher scandals

Regularly updated codes of conduct must guide staff on how to use social media, says James Lynas. Leaving it to common sense exposes the school and staff to disaster Career death awaits school staff who use social media carelessly. Be wary of sharing a “sexy selfie” with Facebook friends who then tell your head; never […]

What does high challenge teaching look like?

To define “high challenge” is almost impossible, says Heather Fearn. Teachers must use their expertise to ask themselves what actions will best move their class forward “further, faster” at any time What does high challenge teaching look like?” “Easy: make the work harder.” “OK, another question – what is harder work?” “Er . . . […]

Teacher trainers blast DfE for hiding allocation data

The government is under fire for its “unprecedented” refusal to reveal the full allocations for next year’s initial teacher training (ITT), even though officials have had the information for nearly six months. Teacher training providers including universities and schools were told last September how many students they could take onto their programmes for the academic […]

National College no longer approves teacher training providers

The government has stripped more powers from the National College for Teaching and Leadership, telling schools to submit requests to become a teacher training provider directly to the Department for Education. The move is a “significant” step towards the government’s absorption of the college, say experts. Originally opened to provide a standalone teacher training agency, […]

Just 54 citizenship teachers were trained this year

The number of new citizenship teachers in England has plummeted since 2010, prompting calls for a more “robust” approach to preparing pupils for the modern world. Figures released by the schools minister Nick Gibb show that just 54 citizenship teachers have been trained this academic year, compared with 112 in 2014-15 and 243 in 2010-11. […]

‘Great teaching is the opposite of what you learn in training’

The Department for Education’s former teacher in residence has claimed excellent teaching is the “direct opposite” of what he was taught during teacher training – criticising teachers who employ a “child-centred” approach. Robert Peal, a former Teach First trainee who now teaches history at West London Free School, called for an end to teaching that […]

Two-year visa migrant teachers ease recruitment crisis

Schools are increasingly opting to employ migrant teachers on strict two year-only visas. The government’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its “review of teachers” report last week calling for computer science, Mandarin and general science teachers to be added to the government’s official occupation shortage list – jobs where there are not enough resident workers […]

Flexible hours demand scuppers Return to Teaching pilot

One of the largest lead schools in the government’s “returner teachers” pilot says demands for flexible working scuppered the scheme – leaving it with just three of the 23 teachers it retrained. In last year’s Return to Teaching pilot schools were given £1,900 to retrain and employ qualified teachers no longer working in state schools. […]

The tick-box route to QTS: four hours’ assessment and no training

The number of teachers gaining qualified status (QTS) through an “assessment-only” route – involving about four hours of lesson observation and no further training – has more than doubled in the past three years. A Freedom of Information request reveals that the number of teachers passed by providers has risen from 429 in 2013 to […]