Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) updating Initial Teacher Training to strengthen training on SEND for all teachers and (b) including deaf awareness in all Initial Teacher Training.

The department is determined that all children and young people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, receive the support they need to succeed in their education.

Since September 2020, all new teachers entering the profession benefit from at least three years of evidence based professional development and support, starting with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) based on the new ITT Core Content Framework (CCF). This is followed by a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF). Both frameworks, developed with educational experts, will equip teachers with a clear understanding of the needs of all children, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND code of practice.

ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level which includes the requirement that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils. This includes those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. All teachers in local authority-maintained schools or non-maintained special schools in England are required to hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which is awarded upon successful completion of an ITT course.

In specialist settings, in addition to holding QTS, it is a legal requirement for teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification. Providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to offer these qualifications. Teachers working in an advisory role to support such pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification.

The department intends to develop a new approval process to determine providers of mandatory qualifications in sensory impairment from the start of academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.

Wider decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements, which may include further training and development.