A Registered Charity (No 275082)

Promoting Quality in Teacher Education

Note of the meeting of the School Reference Group to be held at 11am 27 February 2019 in room 12.6.02 in the Charles Street Building, S12 NH, at Sheffield Hallam University

Present

Chris Buckley (John Jamieson School)

Spencer Hennessey (Emmanuel CTC)

Julie Greer (Cherbourg School, SRG Chair)

Jan Linsley (John Jamieson School)

Nicole Lyons (Minster School)

James Noble-Rogers (UCET)

Eileen Robinson (Heath School)

Apologies: Debbie Campbell; Jake Capper; Sean Cavan; Beth Hartwell; Kevin Mattinson; Jackie Moses; Margaret Mullholland; Claire Robins; and Di Swift.

Note of the previous meeting

The note of the meeting held on 31 October was agreed. On matters arising:

James Noble-Rogers and Julie Greer had attended a meeting on mental health and well -being organised by the Royal Foundation which had also been attended by, amongst others, the Duchess of Cambridge. The impact on mental health & well-being of: workload; candidates applying for programmes that attract bursaries rather than those that best meet their subject expertise; and regulatory frameworks were discussed. Particular issues related to the mental health of salaried trainees, who were often required to take on near full teaching responsibilities from the outset of their training. It was agreed that a short questionnaire about this would be sent to those present, to be followed up with a request for information from the full SRG membership.

The importance of student teachers and NQTs being able to plan lessons effectively were discussed. While measures to reduce workload were to be welcomed, care would have to be taken not to de-skill teachers through the un-contextualised application of ‘off the peg’ resources or simply delaying the time when early career teachers would be expected to take a leading role in regards lesson planning. Teachers also needed to have the research knowledge and skills to plan effectively. The UCET companion document on lesson planning in the context of workload was welcomed.

The scope to develop an undergraduate apprenticeship route to QTS was being considered by DfE.

The following issues were also discussed:

The Early Career Framework, which was welcomed by the group. UCET and NASBTT had been arguing for exclusively delivery by the accredited ITE sector, which would ensure synergy with ITE, avoid the need for the production of costly supporting curriculum materials and would bring with it access to an existing OfSTED regulatory framework. SRG members from the ECF pilot areas reported that they were not aware of any plans for implementation in September 2020.

Applications for ITE programmes for 2019/20, which were mixed but broadly comparable to the previous year.

The importance of a clear rationale from providers who offer salaried placements and ot was agreed to gather 'quick response' views from trainees and mentors about planning and pedagogy.

The planned review of the shape of the ITE market. The disruptive impact of increased competition were noted, although care would need to be taken to ensure that the existing teacher supply base offered by HEI and SCITT providers was not undermined. The implications of the review of Teaching School networks was also discussed.

The shift of focus from recruitment to retention incentives were welcomed, as was the scope to improve the current applications system (provided that any new IT systems did actually work).

The value of prior school experience, and mixed messages from DfE which, on the one hand was encouraging potential applicants to undertake prior experience with the development of a new portal while, on the other hand, preventing providers from making prior experience a condition of entry.

The potential role of accredited ITE providers acting as appropriate bodies, further details of which were still awaited from DfE.

The implications of the new OfSTED Education Inspection Framework, and the new ITE framework to be consulted on in January 2020 with a likely implementation date of summer 2020.

The 5-6 November UCET conference in Stratford upon Avon, which SRG members were encouraged to attend.

SRG members were reminded that they could contact UCET with questions about compliance and procedural issues, and with points they would like to be reflected by UCET in discussions with DfE, OfSTED and other bodies.

Date of next meeting

5 June 2019