Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the standard of teaching in schools.

The quality of teaching is the most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department is transforming the training and support for new and existing teachers and aims to deliver 500,000 teacher training and development courses by the end of 2024.

The Department has introduced improved quality requirements that all initial teacher training (ITT) courses must meet from September 2024. This is based on a review by an expert advisory group, and 179 providers have been successful following a rigorous accreditation process in 2022 designed to drive up the quality and consistency of teacher training. Together with the new Early Career Framework, these reforms will ensure that new teachers will now benefit from at least three years of evidence based training, across ITT and into their induction.

The Department has also provided a renewed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and leaders have been able to access scholarships to undertake fully-funded NPQs.

These measures will create a golden thread of teacher training running from ITT through to school leadership, rooting teacher and leader development in the best available evidence.

The Department is also funding several subject specific curriculum programmes that help improve the quality of teaching and offer high quality Career Professional Development for schools. The Department funds a range of networks of curriculum hubs for subjects including maths, science, computing, English, languages, and music. Plans to expand the reach of maths hubs support were announced on 17 April 2023. Further details can be found on here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-04-17/hcws715.