Trainning

Pre - and in - Course Study in Initial Teaching Training
 

The DfEE Green Paper "Teachers: meeting the challenge of change" (December 1998) proposed changes to initial teacher training (ITT) to make it more flexible, more rigorous, and to ensure that all newly qualified teachers have the skills they need. Strengthening and extending pre- and in-course study willincrease flexibility for trainees, raise the quality of ITT, give trainees further opportunities to improve their subject knowledge and enable them to make an informed choice concerning the materials they use.

High quality materials are being identified to support subject knowledge in primary English, mathematics and science; secondary design and technology, physical education and science; and the new QTS skills tests in numeracy, literacy and information and communications technology . Support materials for the numeracy skills test are already available on the TTA web site (www.teach-tta.gov.uk). Details of further support materials will be published shortly on this web site. In the summer, the TTA will publish a catalogue of all the high quality resources identified which will be made available to training providers and trainees.

The TTA is also setting up summer schools for postgraduates, from June 2001, offering extra support in the primary core subjects and in secondary design and technology, PE and science. The extra study will be made only available to trainees who wish to take advantage of it.
 
 

Modular Postgraduate ITT

The Green Paper "teachers: meeting the challenge of change" proposed developments in initial teacher training to provide diverse and flexible training routes so they could be matched to the needs and circumstances of all those with the potential to succeed as teachers.

Over 650 modular primary and secondary places have provisionally been allocated from the first round of bids received from initial teacher training providers. Places allocated in response to the bids will attract an additional 5% premium through the TTA price tariff. This new provision will be available from September 2000.

The new modular provision will meet the needs of the following target groups:

1.mature candidates in employment seeking to change careers but who are not able to give up their jobs to undertake full time training;

2.trainees whose circumstances change during their training and wish to switch from full-time to part-time study, or vice versa;

3.those who want or need to spread their training over a longer period than one year;

4.those in employment with relevant experience and expertise, who do not need a full year's training;

5.trainees who want to move to a different provider and take credit with them;

6.those with family or other care responsibilities who cannot study full time;

7.those with no local initial teacher training provision;

8.experienced candidates, say from the independent sector or trained overseas, who need either a small amount of top-up training or an assessment only- route to Qualified Teacher Status.
 

National Skills Tests
 

Skills tests in numeracy, literacy and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) were proposed in the Green Paper "teachers : meeting the challenge of change." The tests are an important part of the Government's reform programme to modernise teaching and make it a high status profession. The tests will provide an additional reassurance that Newly Qualified Teachers have the necessary numeracy, literacy and ICT skills to carry out their professional role. The vast majority (71%) of the respondents to the Green Paper endorse the proposal to introduce the tests.

The tests will be introduced for all trainee teachers from May 2001. There will be transitional arrangements for trainees seeking to gain Qualified Teacher Status between 1 May 2000 and 30 April 2001. These trainees need to take a paper-based numeracy test on 1 June 2000 and if they are unsuccessful, another on 26 July 2000. They will still be awarded QTS if they fail the numeracy test at these two sittings, but they will need to take and pass the computer based numeracy test - available from February 2001 - by the end of their induction period in order to teach in a maintained school or non-maintained special school. They will be allowed three further attempts to pass the test (five in total).

Computer- based tests in numeracy, literacy and ICT will be piloted in 2000, and will be available from February 2001. Trainees seeking to gain QTS from 1 May 2001 onwards will need to pass all three tests in order to gain QTS. After the first attempt of each of the numeracy, literacy and ICT tests, trainees wil be allowed to resit each test a further three times.
 
 

Teachers' International Professional Development
 

The 1998 Green Paper "teachers meeting the challenge of change", detailed the Government's commitment: "to review the existing, limited teacher exchange activities and to establish from 2000 a new programme of international development opportunities for teachers and heads, encompassing study visits, exchanges, and short and, long term placements overseas, linked directly to our national training priorities and to the career development of individual teachers. By 2002, we envisage that up to 5,000 teachers annually might have the opportunity to benefit from some form of international professional development." (para 135)

In response to the Government's proposals in the Green Paper to develop a new programme of international development opportunities, the Department for Education and Employment set up a range of pilot programmes. These have now finished and the results are being analysed.

A web-site is also being developed to make international professional development more widely accessible to all teachers.

One of the objectives of all professional development activity will be to improve delivery in the classroom. Following the development activity, what has been learned will be shared with others and good practice disseminated to other teaching colleagues, in other schools.

Therefore there should be a strong focus on the outcome and evaluation of the international development activity, so that the effect of putting into practice what has been learned is reflected in raised standards in the classroom.
 
 

Best practice Research Scholarships
 

Best Practice Research Scholarships for teachers are part of a series of complementary programmes developed out of the 1998 Green Paper "teachers: meeting the challenge of change".

The overall objective of the programme is to provide teachers with the opportunity to undertake relatively small-scale research projects, and develop existing research to extend and enhance their performance. This will help teachers to be more informed by research, and will support local and national priorities through targeted research activity, which has the potential to improve classroom practice and hence standards.

A pilot programme is currently underway in Excellence in Cities areas, and a national programme will be available from the Autumn of 2000.

Included in the consultation document "Professional Development - Support for teaching and learning" were two annexes, Annex 1 forms part of the consultation on Best Practice Research Scholarships. The consultation was launched on 9 February 2000 and finishes on 20 April 2000.

 
Continuing Professional Development Funding Review

The Government has stated clearly its commitment to supporting teachers by providing the training and development opportunities they need to raise standards in schools. The Green Paper "teachers: meeting the challenge of change", set out Ministers plans for teachers' professional development. It states:

"Much existing training is unsystematic and unfocused. We intend to set out a clear framework for professional development which brings together national, school and individual training priorities to help all teachers to raise standards in the classroom and to progress within the new career structure." (para.122)

To support this commitment, the Green Paper states: "We will review existing funding mechanisms to ensure the right balance between sustained focus on national priorities and flexibility to match school and individual needs." (para.123)

We are currently undertaking a review of existing funding mechanisms.  As the project progresses and more information becomesavailable this site will be updated.
 
 

In-service Training

Schools usually have 5 in-service training days a year. This years chools have been granted two additional in-service training days, one to be taken between now and the end of the summer term and a second day to be taken in the following academic year. Schools are expected to take this day at a time which will cause minimum disruption to pupils and parents.
Some schools may wish to use the additional in-service training day to work through the threshold arrangements with staff. Others may wish to use it to develop a performance management policy for the school with staff and governors. The appropriate balance between the time allocated to threshold and performance management will depend on the circumstances of the school. Schools will need to take account of factors such as the number of teachers interested in finding out about the threshold, the school’s approach to disseminating information on this, the school’s existing performance management arrangements, and when the school has decided to take the extra day.
 

Conferences for headteachers on threshold assessment

Headteachers and representatives of LEAs attended a series of threshold training events in March and April. At these events they received training packs and a support pack to take back to schools to help them explain the threshold process to teachers. Two videos, one covering Performance Management and the other covering Threshold Assessment were also distributed to headteachers at the conferences. Additional events have been arranged in May for headteachers who were unable to attend an event in March or April. A further half-day follow up is being offered to headteachers between 5-24 June to discuss practical assessment issues arising from the applications.
 

Conferences for headteachers on Performance Management

Every headteacher will be invited to attend a one day training event between 26 June and 14 July to introduce them to the new requirements. A key element of these events will be to give headteachers the opportunity to compare their current performance management arrangements with the new national requirements.
 

THRESHOLD ASSESSMENT: Key points to bear in mind:

Application packs, additional information for headteachers about the roles of headteachers and external assessors, and a note on handling the analysis of pupil progress data, were delivered to all schools in England on 24 March. It is for eligible teachers to decide whether or not to submit an application to pass the threshold. Headteachers will have a duty to assess all applications made. Headteachers may seek input from Deputy Headteachers, team leaders or other senior members of staff who may have a more direct overview of applicants.
 
Threshold Assessment: suggestions to make best use of the in-service training day.
 
 

Clarify which teachers will be eligible to apply this year, including part time staff. Use it to assure teachers that the threshold process is not a one off exercise this year - teachers not eligible to apply this year or teachers whose applications to pass the threshold this year are unsuccessful will have the opportunity to apply or reapply in subsequent years; Headteachers will be able to utilise the support packs they received at the training events in March and April. These included copies of the overhead transparencies (paper copies only) and a video about the threshold assessment arrangements. The majority of materials, and a question and answer brief, can be found on the DfEE’s teaching reforms website, www.dfee.gov.uk/teachingreforms

Use it to pass on information about the assessment procedure to teachers in your school. Clarify the sources of evidence available to support teachers with their applications - for example the PANDA reports - and explain that they do not have to attach evidence to their applications;
 
Explain your role, the potential role of your Deputies, team leaders or senior school staff and the external assessors in processing applications. It might be useful to explain who will have access to the application forms;Explain that there are no quotas. All teachers who meet the eight national threshold standards will pass the threshold. It would be helpful to reassure successful teachers that passing the threshold will not result in any changes to their existing contact or a requirement to undertake addition duties.

Use it to generate debate amongst teachers about the types of evidence that may be used to demonstrate performance against the eight threshold standards.
 
 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: Key points:

The new performance management arrangements will be a legal requirement of all teachers and heads from September 2000.

Schools will need to have their performance management policy approved by the governing body and in place by the end of December 2000; Heads will have to have agreed their objectives with the governing body by the end of December 2000; and all teachers will need to have agreed their objectives by the end of February 2001.

Some performance management consultants may be available in the summer term locally to assist schools on in-service training days. Details about the arrangements for contacting performance management consultants will be sent to schools shortly.

When the external threshold assessor makes a visit to a school he or she will give a short report to the headteacher and the chair of governors on the progress the school has made towards implementing the new arrangements

Performance Management: suggestions to make best use of the in-service training day.

Use it to clarify roles and responsibilities, based on the Performance Management Framework and the model performance management policy. The key documents which explain the new arrangements are already in schools. These are: the Performance Management Framework which describes the key elements of how performance management will work from September 2000 and provides information about the performance management cycle, and some examples of objectives; and the model performance management policy designed tobe used by schools as a template to help schools develop a policy for use in their own school.

Use it to get the most out of the performance management training event for all headteachers in the summer: use the time to look through the new documents and assess how closely what you already do matches up to the new requirements; begin to think about how you might fill any gaps; think about what is important to your school to continue with; about how what you do can be adapted to meet the new requirements.

Use it to think about what further support the school might need - which could be provided by the Performance Management Consultant (PMC). Heads will meet PMCs and learn more about what they have to offer at the training events, but it would be useful if headteachers already had an idea about their likely requirements.

Use it to begin to plan for the introduction of the changes: consider who will act as the team leader for which teachers;and how will the objective-setting and review process be arranged: including how the annual cycle might work.

Introduce (if necessary) the concept of a performance management policy and begin to think about what that might mean in your school. Consider what it must include and what you would also like it to include to reflect the values and ethos of the school.

Plan ahead; consider how the PMC might be used; consider how consultation on the performance management policy might be handled; how the arrangements will be introduced during the Autumn term; and how the further additional in-service training day allocated in the 2000/2001 academic year might be used (as a follow-up event, or a review event, or an event involving the PMC)
 
 

Performance Management Governor Training

Under the proposed performance management arrangements to be introduced in September 2000, governing bodies will have two key roles. The first is not a new one; to review the headteacher's performance and pay. However, under the proposed new arrangements, governors would carry out this task with the help of a trained external adviser. For the second role, governing bodies would need to agree a performance management policy for the school and ensure that it is operating effectively by monitoring at a strategic level. To help governing bodies we aim to provide :a guidance booklet for all governors, which will complement the Performance Management Framework, focusing specifically on governors' role in performance management and the implications of the new pay structure. a centrally produced training pack based on the information in the booklet. The training will be designed in modular format so that governors can choose which modules they might need to attend depending on their area of responsibility on the governing body. Green Paper videos, posters and information leaflets will be generally available in schools.
 

Performance Management Training for School Governors

Module 1 - Performance Management for the Governing body Module overview
 

Module 1 is aimed at the governing body. It focuses on the principles of performance management and the roles and responsibilities of the governing body in relation to:

The Education (School Teachers Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2000; The Education (School Government) (Terms of Reference) (England) Regulations 2000.
 

Objectives

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to understand: the concept, rationale, processes and potential implications of performance management in schools and to develop knowledge, understanding and appreciation of : the key principles of performance management. why performance management is a key and integral part of school management and improvement. the strategic, legal and operational role of the governing body in the performance management process. the key elements and the roles and responsibilities of others in performance management. the links between performance management and other aspects of school governance and management. developing an action plan.
 
 

Module 2 - Reviewing the Headteachers performance

Module overview

Module 2 is aimed at the governors appointed by the governing body to review the head’s performance. Those attending this module should have attended module 1 or at least read the DfEE publication (0059/2000) Performance Management, Guidance for Governors, unless they are satisfied they have a sound knowledge of the principles of performance management.

It focuses on the principles of reviewing the head’s performance, the setting of objectives, working with the adviser, the monitoring and evaluation cycle, the roles and responsibilities of the appointed governors.

Objectives

By the end of this workshops participants will: have the knowledge and skills to work with the adviser to monitor and evaluate the performance of the headteacher and in particular: Identify steps and processes in selecting an adviser Recognise the importance of having a systematic approach to monitoring and evaluation as part of a whole school performance management framework and identify processes, roles and procedures for all concerned. Understand the importance of performance data as part of systematic, evidence-based monitoring evaluation (identifying links between data, equal opportunities and ensuring fairness ) Identify the range and relative importance of the data available. Understand the difference between monitoring and evaluation Identify strategies for monitoring and evaluating with head and adviser as part of the monitoring dialogue Understand the criteria, school leadership and management and pupil progress; data and principles of SMART, which underpin the process for agreeing objectives.
 

Module 3 - The review meeting

Module overview

Module 3 is aimed at governors appointed by the governing body to review the heads performance. It is preferable that those attending this module should have attended module 2. It focuses on specific skills practice needed to take an effective part in the review meeting. It also explores the relationships between the head and adviser and governors in the review meeting.
The module is designed to develop the skills of the appointed governors in taking part in the review meeting and working with the adviser.

Objectives

By the end of this workshop participants will : be able to keep ‘on task’ and produce clear outcomes from the performance review meeting be able to practise the use of a range of questioning/ listening strategies to recognise that the core values of the school underpin the performance review meeting be able to give and receive feedback constructively and sensitively and ensuring the need for fair and objective discussion. be able to recognise the difference between confidentiality and open communication ensure that the outcomes of the performance review feed into the subsequent cycles and other aspects of school improvement and procedures
 
 

Assessment

General Points
Rounded assessment: Eight standards covering five dimensions of teachers’
work: ‘knowledge and understanding’; ‘teaching and assessment’; ‘pupil progress’; ‘wider professional effectiveness’; and ‘professional characteristics’.

Pupil progress: One of the eight standards to be assessed. Looking for evidence that the

teacher’s pupils achieve well in relation to their prior attainment, making progress as good or

better than similar pupils nationally. Not payment by results -common sense. Assessment

would be incomplete if did not consider progress of pupils as an indicator of quality of teaching.

Product of wide consultation: Draft standards published in February 1999 in Technical

Consultation Document. Revised standards reflect points raised in consultation and subsequent discussion with teachers and their representatives.

Underpinned by research: Informed by new research undertaken by Hay McBer - one of the world’s largest human resources consulting firms - into characteristics of effective teaching in addition to existing research findings.

Short form: 6 pages for applicants to give succinct, concrete examples from  their day-to-day work, to show how they meet performance threshold standards. Need to meet all eight standards.

Fair and straightforward process: Headteachers, or appropriate headteacher equivalent in non-school settings, to assess. Senior staff to help in making judgements. No lengthy report writing. Evidence from classroom observation (previous or new) will be important. External assessor to sample judgements to ensure national consistency in application of standards.

Developmental: Opportunity to benchmark self. Positive feedback to all on how best to take forward professional development, either to move on from threshold or
to achieve threshold standards.

Training: Every headteacher invited to attend a one day training session on performance threshold in March, April or May. Further half day follow up events are
taking place between 5 - 24 June. All schools provided with an extra INSET day in Spring or Summer terms to cover introduction of performance threshold.