What we do
UCET is an independent, professional organisation funded solely by its member institutions, universities, colleges and others providing accredited HE level teacher education and engaging in education research in the UK. UCET has more than 90 member institutions, including nearly 100% of relevant HEIs. It is governed by an Executive Committee elected by representatives of its member organisations, and has forums for the discussion of Initial Teacher Education for primary and early years teachers; Initial Teacher Education for secondary teachers; teacher education for the post-compulsory sector; research & international issues, and the continuing professional development of teachers. It has a separate committee for members in Northern Ireland and in Wales, which is part of the Universities and Schools Council for the Education of Teachers (USCET). UCET works in partnership with a number of other organisations, including: the Scottish Teacher Education Committee (STEC); the British Educational Research Association (BERA); Universities' UK; Guild HE; the Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN); the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) and the National Association for School Based Teacher Training (NASBTT).
UCET acts as a national forum for the discussion of matters relating to the education of teachers and to the study of education and educational research in the university sector. It provides a network for the exchange of information about the work of its members.
Our vision is for high educational and personal achievement for all learners through excellence in teacher education.
Our mission is to act as an independent and authoritative voice on teacher education while supporting the quality, sustainability and professionalism of teacher education by encouraging cohesive partnerships, engaging constructively with stakeholders and drawing on research from across the UK and internationally.
UCET provides invaluable and cost-effective support to its membership, both collectively and at institutional level. Our work includes:
- Representing and promoting the sector, where we speak and negotiate with the government and other statutory agencies, and use our media profile to make the case for high quality, sustainable and properly-resourced teacher education and education research.
- Informing the sector, through the holding of regular meetings and events that give teacher educators the chance to share ideas, identify and resolve concerns, and network. We also keep the membership in touch with national policy announcements, funding opportunities and a range of other information. We also help members advertise for staff and external examiners and publicise conferences and other events.
- Providing advice to individual members on issues such as DBS and child protection regulation, teacher training requirements, inspection issues, student support regulations and anything else that our colleagues working within particular institutions find themselves faced with.
For further information about UCET membership, please contact us.