Every school in the country will have greater access to expert teacher training and development, under plans announced by the Department for Education today.
The teaching workforce will get best-practice and expert advice on how best to engage with pupils, lesson planning, and classroom management, as part of new teaching school hubs being rolled out across the country.
81 Hubs will be added in all corners of England to provide high-quality professional development to teachers and leaders at all stages of their career, and play a key role in helping to build up trainee teachers as they enter the workforce. This will further level up the quality of teaching, allowing every child to receive a world-class start in life no matter where they are born.
Each hub, all of which will be operational and helping schools from this September, will have its own defined geographical patch and will be expected to be accessible to all schools within that area, serving on average around 250 schools each.
The programme is being rolled out as teachers continue to deliver high quality remote education for pupils, with the current attendance restrictions in schools and colleges remaining in place until 8 March at the earliest.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:
We know teachers are already providing the best education possible for pupils, and this is especially true while schools are closed to most pupils. These new Teaching School Hubs will further support the profession by providing the best possible training and development opportunities.
It is important that teachers and school leaders feel supported in their career. The Hubs will make this substantially easier, with expert practitioners able to give experienced advice to those schools able to benefit from it.
There will be 87 hubs for teacher training and development, built around some of the best schools and Multi Academy Trusts in England. This comes from £65m of new funding, with the Hubs set to run for an initial three years.
The 81 new hubs will be rolled out in addition to the six existing test & learn TSH which were appointed in January 2020. This means there will be nationwide coverage for the first time, and every school in England will now have access to a local centre of excellence for teacher training.
The Hubs will also help in delivering the Early Career Framework reforms when this is available nationally from September 2021, as well as in delivering a reformed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) including new specialist NPQs. They will also deliver Initial Teaching Training and additional high-quality evidence based professional development.
Richard Gill, Teaching School Council Chair, said:
The Teaching Schools Council congratulates all 81 schools and/or trusts which have been designated as a teaching school hub. They will now join the existing 6 ‘test and learn’ hubs that were announced in January 2020 to form a national network of excellence in teacher training and development.
The work of the TSC has been instrumental in supporting this programme to date and we are proud to be the sector body that will continue to be a key partner in these reforms.
The Department has committed to improving support and professional development for teachers at all stages of their career, particularly for those in their vital first few years of teaching, through the Early Career Framework reforms.
A reformed suite of NPQs, previously announced in 2019 as part of the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Strategy, will also be launched from September 2021. This will ensure these qualifications continue to offer the best possible support to teachers and leaders wanting to expand their knowledge and skills.
