Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2017
The trainees’ evidence was that the emphasis on the theory was too heavy, and that it was not until they were in the classroom that they learned anything of relevance to their teaching—that is the key concern.
Those are serious issues because they have a clear bearing on the two overarching issues facing our school system: recruitment of teachers, and literacy and numeracy. With 700 unfilled teacher vacancies, we need to attract new people into the profession. We must do better on teacher placements. Problems arising from reimbursement only exacerbate issues of affordability of study, especially for those who are changing careers and who have families and prior financial commitments. Chaotic placements can only deter people from entering training, which we can ill afford.
The evidence from the programme for international student assessment and the Scottish survey of literacy and numeracy is that we have seen a decline in literacy and numeracy standards, both relatively internationally and on our own measures. That is a concern not just for parents but for us all, so the comments about the adequacy of core literacy and numeracy in ITE must ring alarm bells.
I welcome the sober and earnest response that we have had from the cabinet secretary in his previous statements and today in his comments and in the amendment that he has put before Parliament. However, we must also be frank about where we are and what we need to do. Seeing curriculum for excellence through means ensuring that it is properly supported in ITE. The only way we will address the declines in literacy and numeracy is by equipping our teachers to tackle them. The only way we will recruit teachers into the profession is if the courses are well run and students are adequately supported throughout them.
The cabinet secretary has delayed his governance review. I hope that that enables consideration of the Education and Skills Committee’s recent evidence and examination of the effectiveness of ITE. We have an opportunity ahead of us, as the teacher qualification programme’s accreditation is due for renewal. We should ask the General Teaching Council for Scotland to reflect on those issues as it does so. Given Education Scotland’s role in inspecting and evaluating ITE programmes, we must look at whether it makes sense for accreditation and inspection to be carried out by different bodies and look at what impact that has had. Our education system must be built on secure foundations, with initial teacher education at its very cornerstone.
I move amendment S5M-05595.1, after “literacy and numeracy” to insert:
“; further believes that more initial teacher training in the support of pupils facing particular challenges, such as living in care or with adoptive families, could help close the attainment gap”.
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