In its response to the DfE Consultation on the Initial Teacher Training Market Review Consultation, TEAG highlighted that any reforms should meet three key tests:

• that the reforms improve the quality of newly qualified teachers; 
• that we maintain and enhance a strong pipeline of teachers into the profession; 
• and that we ensure the most effective use of resources so that as much funding as possible is going into the student learning experience and isn’t being wasted on unnecessary administration.  

Teacher Education Advisory Group (TEAG) is a joint group between Universities UK and GuildHE bringing together universities that deliver Initial Teacher Education. The consultation goes on to emphasise that any reforms must be evidence-based, and where a robust evidence-base doesn’t exist then reforms should be modelled, piloted and evaluated before being implemented.

The consultation goes on to highlight that reforms must be implemented well and not just quickly. In practice this means for new students starting in September 2024 at the earliest, to be properly tested and meet various internal and external quality and compliance processes.

A key feature of the proposals is that existing providers would need to go through re-accreditation. We believe that if this is deemed absolutely necessary by DfE, and only if, then any re-accreditation should be risk-based to minimise burden and cost on high quality providers. At a time of other major education reforms, and building back from the pandemic, now is not the time to be diverting key resources to processes that do not directly enhance the student learning experience and risk destabilising teacher supply

Finally, we argue that curriculum should be evidence-based and within a broad framework, but not so inflexible that it does not allow tailoring to the needs of individual trainees and different contexts.

To read the full consultation response, click here.