UK: New Institute of Teaching set to be established
A new Institute of Teaching is set to be established in England to provide teachers and school leaders with prestigious training and development throughout their career.
Training will be delivered through at least four regional campuses, launching in September 2022, with the Institute being the first of its kind in the world.
The national initiative will deliver evidence-based approaches to teacher training, and also include mentoring and early career support, alongside leadership courses and continued professional development, building on existing high-quality provision.
It will be funded as part of £22 million for teacher quality agreed at the Spending Review, which also includes funding for mentor time for early career teachers as part of the Early Career Framework reforms.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
When I visit schools around the country, it is clear that the very best combine high standards of pupil behaviour and discipline with a broad knowledge-based and ambitious curriculum, so that every child can learn and flourish.
Our new Institute of Teaching will help equip all teachers to deliver an education like this, by training them in the best, evidence-based practices. The Institute’s cutting-edge approach to teacher training will ensure a new generation of teachers have the expertise they need to level up school standards across the country.
Through adding diversity and innovation to the existing teacher development market, the Institute will revolutionise teacher training and make England the best place in the world to train and become a great teacher.
The Institute will become England’s flagship teacher training and development provider, showcasing exemplary delivery of the Government’s ambitious reforms through the new ITT Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework, and its changes to National Professional Qualifications (NPQs).
The training is likely to be delivered through a blend of online, face-to-face and school-based means. When the Institute is at full capacity, it is expected to deliver training for:
Around 1,000 ITT trainees annually
Around 2,000 Early Career Teachers and 2,000 mentors annually
1,000 NPQ participants annually
It will continue to build evidence around the most effective approaches to training and developing teachers, and will use this to support other teacher development organisations, including new Teaching School Hubs, to understand and implement best practice.
The Department for Education is also set to resume its review of the ITT market, following a pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The review will focus on how the ITT sector can provide consistently high-quality training in line with the Core Content Framework in a more efficient and effective market. It will be led by Ian Bauckham, CEO of Tenax Schools Trust, acting Chair of Ofqual and Chair of Oak National Academy, with the support of officials and a small expert group.
The group will work with the sector during the review. The Department has committed to improving support and professional development for teachers at all stages of their career, particularly for those in their vital first few years of teaching, through the Early Career Framework reforms.
A reformed suite of NPQs, previously announced in 2019 as part of the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Strategy, will also be launched from September 2021. They will offer valuable professional development for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to improve teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.