Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government where the criteria for standards in initial teacher training can be found, and whether there are any specific legislative instruments enforcing those criteria.

The Teachers’ Standards were published in 2011 and apply to all teachers. They define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers. The document can be found on the GOV.UK website, and has been attached to this answer.

The standards refer to:

• Schedule 2 of The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003

• The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012

As such, the Teachers’ Standards apply to:

• Trainees working towards Qualified Teacher Status;

• All teachers completing their statutory induction period (newly qualified teachers [NQTs]); and

• Teachers in maintained schools, including maintained special schools, who are covered by the 2012 appraisal regulations.

The National College for Teaching and Leadership will use Part Two of the Teachers’ Standards, which relates to personal and professional conduct, when assessing cases of serious misconduct, regardless of the education sector in which the teacher works.