The Department for Education has launched an informal consultation on the induction arrangements for newly qualified teachers as part of its plans to update the current regulations and guidance on statutory induction. The Department will informally consult with key stakeholders such as headteachers, induction coordinators and newly qualified teachers over the Summer before launching a formally consultation in the Autumn. The new arrangements will be expected to come into force by September 2012, along with the revised Teachers’ Standards.
The consultation will consider: ways to reduce bureaucratic burdens on schools; how induction can support and challenge newly qualified teachers to improve their confidence and quality of teaching in their first year of practice; the level of regulation needed in induction and whether schools should play a greater role in induction arrangements; and the role of new Teaching Schools in future induction arrangements. The consultation will also consider ways to provide quality assurance for new teachers in Academies, Free Schools and independent schools.
The initiative follows the publication of the White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ which set out plans to reform initial teacher training, creating new Teaching Schools and improve professional development.
Going forward, the School Travel Forum will stress the importance of new teachers having confidence to engage in outdoor learning and particulaly the management of school trips and this should form part of the training and induction of all new teachers.