MEDIA STATEMENT: Education Select Committee recommendations for teacher recruitment and retention.
February 21st 2017
Today, the Education Select Committee published the findings of its teacher recruitment and retention inquiry. The findings revealed that to boost teacher retention rates, the government should put more focus on CPD, recommending that there should be a “central statement of annual CPD entitlement” for each teacher, “targeted funding” for CPD and that Ofsted should check schools are encouraging CPD during its inspections.
At Teacher Development Trust, we welcome the recognition of the importance of CPD highlighted. It not only helps teachers and retention but, crucially, also helps pupils succeed. However a minimum entitlement for teachers will only work if it enables high quality CPD. Irrelevant or ineffective CPD won’t benefit teachers or pupils.
David Weston and Bridget Clay
CEO and Director of School Programmes, Teacher Development Trust
About the Teacher Development Trust
The Teacher Development Trust is the independent national charity for teacher training and professional development. Launched by teachers in 2012, the Trust works with government, schools and colleges, subject associations, teaching unions, universities, as well as many profit and non-profit organisations from across the education spectrum, both in the UK and abroad.
The Teacher Development Trust is dedicated to improving the educational outcomes for children by raising the quality of teacher professional development, raising awareness of the importance of professional development and building tools to help teachers to transform their practice and achieve success for all their pupils.
The Trust believes that demand for professional learning should be driven by the aspiration teachers have for the children they teach and the passion they bring to their work. The Trust is determined to bring about radical improvement in the quality of the ongoing training that teachers receive based on the evidence of what creates effective learning.
The Teacher Development Trust works with organisations around the world to promote the best possible practice in using and delivering professional development in education. Services include:
- The TDT Network, the national network for best-practice in teacher development. Featuring an in-depth audit of your CPD approaches, best-practice guides and ideas from around the country, networking events, access to research and expertise, this network has the power to transform your organisation and improve teaching, wellbeing and staff retention. http://TDTrust.org/network
- TDT Advisor: a national database of courses, consultancy services, books, videos and podcasts with teacher reviews and official quality ratings. This includes a partnership with the Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit advisor.tdtrust.org
- Free advice for teachers, schools and training providers.
- Support and consultancy for training providers (including schools) to help them deliver professional development courses and consultancy that have sustainable impact and value in the classroom.
- Research services to help you pinpoint the evidence behind your professional development policies and programmes.
Registered charity number 1147447
For further information, visit www.teacherdevelopmenttrust.org or follow the Teacher Development Trust on Twitter @TeacherDevTrust