NUT on Initial Teacher Training
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
9:46 AM
Commenting on the Government’s Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Strategy Implementation Plan, published today, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said:
“A first class degree does not necessarily a first class teacher make. The real incentive which Government needs to address in order to attract people into teaching is not simply bursaries. Teachers need to be given greater control over what goes on in the classroom, the unnecessary bureaucratic workload needs to go, pay and conditions need to remain competitive and of course Government needs to ensure a good pension.
“There is a place for introducing some specialist teachers at primary school level but it cannot be at the expense of all primary teachers having initial and continuing professional development. A small cadre of sponsored first class degree primary specialists is not the way to ensure excellence in the 19,000 primary schools in England.
“While it's absolutely right that schools should be involved in both content and delivery of ITT programmes, there is a need to maintain national standards and a syllabus for all trainee teachers. If not there is a danger that teachers will be trained to work in one particular type of school or type of neighbourhood rather than to be equipped to teach across a full range of schools and colleges.”
END pr145-2011
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