Initial Teacher Training is a critical area of national education policy.

The NASUWT is clear that while it is appropriate to have a diversity of training options, all must address the complex demands made of highly qualified professional teachers.

The Union has well-established policy on the principles on which effective systems of ITT should be based and which underpin its engagement with the Government and its campaigning work in this area.

These systems should reflect the art, craft and science of teaching.

The art of teaching is about being responsive and creative and developing intuitive capabilities.

The science of teaching is about using research and other forms of evidence to inform decisions about how to teach.

The craft of teaching is about mastering the full range of skills and practices needed by teachers to discharge their professional responsibilities effectively.

This broader vision of teaching is central to understanding its status as a profession. Conceptualisations of teacher professionalism that fail to fully reflect these considerations cannot be regarded as a coherent and credible basis upon which to establish an effective national strategy for sustaining teacher quality.

The DfE commissioned the ITT market review on the role and structure of the ITT system in England. The review published its report and recommendations in July 2021. These recommendations, if implemented, would have far-reaching implications for the ways in which ITT is organised and for the content of ITT programmes.

The NASUWT submitted detailed evidence to the DfE consultation (pdf) on the review’s recommendations. This evidence made clear that while there are important issues with the current ITT system that need to be addressed and aspects of it require improvement and reform, the recommendations in the report would place teacher supply at risk and potentially undermine key aspects of high quality provision.

The Union has called for the recommendations of the review to be subject to more meaningful consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Read more on the General Secretary’s blog Overhauling ITT will not fix teacher supply.