News

Quality of Teacher Training in England

(13 July 2005)

More than 84 per cent of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) believe their initial teaching training was good or very good according to a new survey.

The survey by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) asked teachers how their training prepared them for entering into their new profession. More than 10,000 NQTs responded.

Of the findings in the survey:

• 76 per cent of respondents said the overall quality of support and guidance to achieve the standard of Qualified Teacher Status was good or very good, reaching a six-year high.
• 75 per cent of NQTs rated the overall quality of assessment and feedback during their training as good or very good – an increase of two percentage points to 77 per cent compared with 2004.
• NQTs’ perception of how well their training helped them to use teaching methods that promote pupils’ learning indicates a year-on-year improvement of one percentage point, with 78 per cent rating it good or very good - a positive three-year trend.

Graham Holley, Executive Director at the TTA said: “The results of the survey show that the quality of teacher training in England continues to be high. Training providers in schools, colleges and universities are producing Newly Qualified Teachers who are well prepared for their first posts – Ofsted said recently they are the best ever. But we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Along with welcome general improvements, we continue to work hard to help trainees teach pupils from diverse backgrounds and to manage their classrooms effectively.”

Notes for editors:

More than 84 per cent of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) believe their initial teaching training was good or very good and a further 14 per cent found it to be adequate – categories that NQTs could select were: very good, good, adequate and poor. The full results are published on the TTA’s website at www.tta.gov.uk/nqtsurvey

This is the sixth annual survey of NQTs. The 2005 survey sees the second-highest number of returns in the six years that the survey has been undertaken. The results for this year, together with comparisons with previous years, are used to inform policy and are shared with Initial Teacher Training providers to help them benchmark their performance.

Applications for most postgraduate Initial Teacher Training courses are processed through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry and can be submitted online at www.gttr.ac.uk. Applications for undergraduate teacher training courses can be made via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (www.ucas.ac.uk). The Teacher Training Agency was established under the Education Act 1994. Its purpose is to raise children's standards of achievement and promote their well-being by improving the training and development of the whole school workforce.

Media enquiries Media Relations Office Tel: 020 7023 8080 Out of hours: 077 7193 4629 e-mail: pressoffice@teach-tta.gov.uk Teaching enquiries People interested in becoming a teacher should visit the TTA recruitment website, www.teach.gov.uk, or contact the Teaching Information Line (tel: 0845 6000 991 – 992 for Welsh speakers). General TTA enquiries: 0870 496 0123