The press release issued by the Department for Education on 30 June 2012.

New cadet units across England will be given a £10.85 million boost so that more young people can join up and take pride in their community, the government announced on 30 June 2012, Armed Forces Day.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Department for Education have committed the money to roll out 100 new cadet units across state-funded schools in England by 2015. This will give thousands of children the opportunity to learn leadership skills, volunteer in their communities and build their self-confidence.

Over the next three years, the new cadet units will be created through partnerships with existing units in schools or by creating completely new units. The £10.85 million will go towards essential equipment and training of staff. Interested schools will simply need to demonstrate they are able to provide the adult volunteers and third-party funding to maintain the unit.

Research has found that cadets tend to have high levels of respect for authority and high levels of self-esteem. They are likely to be committed citizens, with high aspirations and a greater sense of community. The vast majority, nearly 80 per cent, said being a cadet has helped them stay out of trouble.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Cadet forces provide an exciting and challenging way for young people to learn teamwork, self-discipline and respect. They have made a hugely positive impact, especially in boosting standards and discipline.

By extending the scheme in state schools, more young people can benefit from the cadet experience. It will help them develop into well-rounded, accomplished adults fully prepared for life beyond school.

We know many schools with cadet forces have a partnership or collaboration arrangements with neighbouring schools to allow more young people to take part. We want to see more partnerships to allow schools to share their expertise and facilities for the benefit of all.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said:

Cadet forces offer a great opportunity to gain life skills and we are determined to ensure that we open that opportunity up to as many young people as possible. The funding announced by the government today will kick start an exciting new phase in the development of our cadet forces – fostering greater social mobility, and raising awareness of the values and ethos of our armed forces among local communities.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 June 2012.

Thousands of young people with special educational needs are to get intensive support into long term paid work, thanks to a new government programme.

From this autumn supported internships are being trialled at 14 colleges around England for young people aged between 16 and 25 who have complex learning difficulties or disabilities. The trials will test a study programme for supported internships that could be adopted by all further education colleges from September 2013.

The supported internships trial, backed by £3 million from the Department for Education, will provide a structured learning programme at an employer, like a restaurant, library or clothes retailer, that is tailored to the individual needs of the young person. It will equip them with the skills they need for the job, backed by expert job coaches to support interns and employers, and give them a chance to study for relevant qualifications. The programme gives them the platform to break down negative attitudes and show employers what they can do.

Giving these young people experience of work allows the young adults to boost their confidence and empowers them to become more independent.

Sarah Teather, Minister for Children and Families, said:

This is about helping young people with complex needs learn the skills they need for the workplace within a real job situation.

We have to be more ambitious and tap into huge potential in people with learning needs. We can’t leave the most vulnerable on the scrapheap, without a way of getting a job and being able to live as independently as they can.

With appropriate mentoring, even young people with complex needs can shine in a successful business.

The Minister saw how this works in practice at the Rose Project at Havering College of Further & Higher Education in east London, which has operated a supported employment programme for young adults with special educational needs for several years.

Jenny Carr, Programme Manager for the Realistic Opportunities for Supported Employment Project, said:

We are passionate about the work that we do because we see how life changing this is for our clients who want the same opportunity as others to have jobs and develop their own independence. The benefits to businesses are also immense as the employers we already work with will happily testify.

Brian Mott, Facilities Manager, said:

An unexpected benefit of employing people with learning disabilities has been the attitude they bring to the workplace. Most of us can be a bit jaded with work but they’re a breath of fresh air and it impacts on others.

Every person you employ has their own idiosyncrasies and if you don’t prejudge people with learning disabilities then I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The supported internships trial is part of the biggest reform of special education needs policy in 30 years. The special educational needs green paper Next Steps details how the government supports young people who lose support when they leave school.

Special educational needs statements and learning difficulty assessments will, from 2014, be replaced with a single assessment which cuts red tape and helps to provide a continuous plan to support teenagers with special educational needs prepare for adulthood.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 26 June 2012.

Teachers are feeling more positive about the standard of pupils’ behaviour in schools, according to a new survey published today.

It reveals how the government’s work to back teachers in improving behaviour in schools and classrooms across the country is starting to deliver positive results.

Of the teachers surveyed, more than 3 out of 4 (76%) said the standard of behaviour was ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in their schools – an increase of six percentage points compared with the previous survey in 2008. More than 4 out of 5 teachers (85%) felt well equipped to manage pupil behaviour.

Whilst these findings are encouraging, the survey also reveals that 3 out of 5 (60%) of teachers asked felt that ‘negative pupil behaviour is driving teachers out of the profession’. While this is a welcome decrease of 8 percentage points from the 2008 survey, it shows there is still more to do.

Also, the latest Ofsted inspections published earlier this month show that, under the new tougher and more focused inspections, behaviour and safety was judged outstanding or good in only four out of five schools (79%).

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

The majority of pupils are well-behaved and want others to behave well too. This survey shows encouraging effects of the government’s reforms, and that schools need to continue with their relentless focus on behaviour.

The survey also reveals some concerns about negative behaviour which is driving some teachers out of the profession. The government is committed to maintaining our relentless focus on raising standards of behaviour in schools until every school is a safe and happy place in which pupils can excel academically.

The government’s expert adviser on behaviour, Charlie Taylor, said:

Without good behaviour teachers can’t teach and pupils can’t learn.

I am encouraged to see that teachers are feeling more in control of the classroom, but still more needs to be done. We need to ensure trainee teachers are equipped with the right training in behaviour management.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 22 June 2012.

Higher Apprenticeships enable the Government to drive economic growth by targeting specific sectors where advanced skills gaps have been identified.

For example, it is estimated that between now and 2030 European airlines will need to recruit 92,500 new pilots while the UK will need to train 96,300 new engineers over the next four years just to replace those who are due to retire.

Higher Apprenticeships also allow people to pursue degree level study while getting paid, widening access routes and helping to widen participation.

The second round of the £25 million Higher Apprenticeship Fund will support the development of 4,230 new Higher Apprenticeships in sectors including aviation, low carbon engineering, legal services and space engineering.

Employers, including Siemens, Unilever and the UK Space Agency will benefit from world class, nationally accredited technical training delivered in the workplace.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“Through the Higher Apprenticeship Fund we can target sectors where skills shortages are threatening to choke off growth.

“They also help us break down the doors of professions that are not representative of the society in which we live. It cannot be right for example that only 4 per cent of registered commercial airline pilots are women.

“Higher Apprenticeships are an essential step in rebalancing our economy and building a fairer country where growth is spread evenly and opportunities are not limited to the privileged.”

Skills Minister John Hayes said:

“By radically increasing the number of degree level apprenticeships we are putting practical learning on a level footing with academic study.

“Doing an apprenticeship should be one of the best gateways to university-level study. Through the Higher Apprenticeship Fund we are creating 23,000 places for young people to take degree-equivalent Higher Apprenticeships in sectors like space engineering and renewable energy.”

David Way, Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service said:

“The expansion of the Higher Apprenticeships underpins our commitment to raising the quality of Apprenticeships.

“We are seeing major employers opening up recruitment and training to young apprentices. Young people and their parents can see clear opportunities to climb the jobs ladder right to the top through taking up Apprenticeships.”

Procter & Gamble Higher Apprentice Lori Douglass said:

“I have enjoyed every minute of my apprenticeship with P&G. As well as an exciting career with excellent progression opportunities, I have gained confidence and a wealth of invaluable experience and training.”

Nine partnerships comprising employers and training providers will receive a total of £6m, following a competitive bidding process.

This is the final tranche of projects being supported by a £25m fund for Higher Apprenticeships and builds on the 21 projects announced in December last year.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 June 2012.

An important aspect of the survey, No place for bullying, was inspectors’ focus on pupils’ own experiences and understanding of bullying and its effects. Inspectors asked pupils what they would do if they were bullied, whether they had been bullied while at their current school and how well they thought their school dealt with bullying.

Training for staff was an important aspect of the schools’ work to prevent and tackle bullying. The training that the majority of schools had provided on bullying tended to be general and did not always focus on the different types of bullying that could occur, such as homophobic bullying. This led to some staff not feeling wholly confident to tackle all types of incident.

Research suggests that certain groups of pupils are more likely to be bullied. These include disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and pupils who are, or are perceived to be, homosexual.

Inspectors found that casual use of language that discriminated against these groups of pupils, and others, was common in many of the schools visited.

Many pupils were well aware that such language was not acceptable, but it was often seen as ‘just banter’. Staff also indicated that they did not always feel confident to challenge unacceptable language or have the strategies to do so.

Director, Education and Care, Susan Gregory said:

Schools must develop a positive culture so all pupils learn in a happy and safe environment. Teachers should receive the right training and support so they have the skills and confidence to teach pupils about diversity and the effects of bullying.

This report shows many examples where action to tackle bullying has been very effective and I hope this best practice can be emulated by other schools.

Inspectors found that most of the schools visited had a positive culture and most pupils were considerate of each other. Many of the schools had developed a range of effective strategies for pupils to learn about moral and social issues. In the best schools, expectations and rules clearly spelled out how pupils should interact with each other. This meant that children developed empathy and understood the effect that bullying could have on people.

However, in some schools the analysis of behaviour and bullying was not always as sharp as it should be. This meant that schools were not able to see exactly what the issues were or what actions needed to be taken next. The best schools recorded bullying incidents, which meant they could look for trends and patterns and could take action promptly.

In a small group of schools visited, behaviour was more variable and interactions between pupils were not as positive. Incidents were dealt with when they happened but the preventative work was not as effective.

Many headteachers and staff spoke about the tensions that could sometimes exist between the culture that they were trying to instil and maintain in their schools, and aspects of the culture in the wider communities around the school.

Some schools had achieved significant success by working with parents and carers and members of the community to reach a better understanding.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 June 2012.

Equipping staff with the right skills is the key to ensuring better quality early years education – this is the finding of Professor Cathy Nutbrown’s independent Review of Early Education and Childcare Qualifications, which was published today.

In her independent report, ‘Foundations for Quality’, Professor Nutbrown sets out 19 recommendations to improve the skills and knowledge of those who work with young children.

The report’s other recommendations include:

• Improving qualifications to make them more rigorous and demanding, with a stronger focus on child development.
• A focus on improving the delivery of qualifications so that tutors have the support to improve their skills and maintain the current experience of the sector.
• Asking the early years sector to lead on mentoring new staff, to support them as they enter work and make sure students learn from good practice.
• Build on progress to encourage graduate leadership in the sector, through Early Years Professional Status, as part of the move towards more teachers in the early years.
• That the Government should not impose a licensing system for the sector at this stage.

Professor Cathy Nutbrown said:

I have seen many inspirational examples of dedicated staff providing the best environment for playing and learning. I want more young children to benefit from this.

Every child deserves excellent early education and care, and every parent should be confident that their child is getting the best. Early education and care needs to support babies’ and young children’s all round well being and development. That is why I want the workforce to really understand child development, the importance of play, and have good English and maths skills.

There is no doubt that high quality education is important. We need to make sure the early years workforce has the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to provide the very best for our young children.

My recommendations stress quality in ensuring that staff are as good as they can be, and have the skills, knowledge, and understanding to make the most of the government’s investment in the early years. Working in the early years sector should be a recognised and fulfilling career that attracts the best women and men.

There cannot be a compromise on quality and we must be relentless in our desire to improve experience for young children. Taken together, I believe my recommendations will give parents and the early years workforce confidence in the standards of early education and care qualifications.

The report shows that high quality early years provision narrows the gap between disadvantaged children and others, and that staff qualifications improve quality.

The government will now carefully consider Professor Nutbrown’s recommendations before publishing a response later this year.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

This government wants the best for our young people. It is clear that if children are to have the best start in life, then they must have excellent early education. The evidence that disadvantaged children particularly benefit from quality early education is compelling. This is why we are offering free childcare to hundreds of two year olds across the country.

I warmly welcome Professor Nutbrown’s thoughtful and thorough report. It takes a careful and measured look at the sector, and will be very useful in helping us to shape the future of the early years workforce. We need to attract bright people to the sector so that our young children get the best possible start in life – after all, they only get one chance.

Parents want to be sure that the childcare they use is both high quality and affordable. The review of childcare affordability announced by the Prime Minister will be informed by Professor Nutbrown’s report, for example her suggestion to look at the link between better qualified staff and child : staff ratios.

We will now consider her report very carefully before responding in further detail later this year.

This comes as the Prime Minister has today launched a commission on childcare which will look at how to reduce the costs to families and the burdens on childcare providers. This will explore the effectiveness of current government support and look at how to encourage childcare after school and in the holidays.

It will draw widely on expertise and evidence from within this country and abroad and it will report back in the autumn.

Anne Longfield, Chief Executive of 4Children, said:

4Children is delighted to welcome the recommendations set out in Professor Nutbrown’s review. The clear commitment to delivering the highest quality for our youngest children speaks strongly to the overwhelming evidence showing how crucial the foundation stage is to the social, emotional, cognitive and health outcomes of children.

If implemented, I believe that this review has the potential to lead to a radical change in the early years and childcare support on offer to children and their families in this country – increasing training and skills for workers with challenging and rewarding job opportunities. This report puts forward informed and insightful recommendations to provide the high quality workforce needed to ensure children – especially those with the most disadvantages get the best start possible.

Today 4children is launching a summary of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for parents. This has been developed with parents and the Department for Education to ensure parents know what the EYFS is about and what they can expect from the professionals working with their child. It was developed following a recommendation from Dame Claire Tickell’s review of the EYFS, that parents should be provided with a brief, simple explanation of what the EYFS is and what they can expect.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 June 2012.

In a speech to the National College annual conference in Birmingham today (15 June 2012), Sir Michael Wilshaw, HMCI, launched a new review of access and achievement in education.

Addressing the audience of headteachers and school leaders Sir Michael said:

Twenty years ago, Ofsted produced a landmark report entitled Access and Achievement in Urban Education, which described the lack of educational success and the paucity of good-quality provision in deprived communities. Ten years later, David Bell, the then Chief Inspector of Schools, marked the anniversary by producing another report under the same headline. What was so depressing was that his report painted a similarly bleak picture of underperformance in these same communities.

I am asking the educational leaders of this country to take ownership of the situation and show the leadership needed to change the learning landscape. Everyone who agrees that all children deserve a good education needs to work in partnership to introduce the radical solutions needed today to make a real difference for the children of tomorrow.

The original report, published in 1993, gave recommendations for closing the gap on the educational achievements of children from rich and poor backgrounds in the English education system. Based on evidence collected from visits to schools, youth and adult education providers in Bristol, Derby, Kingston-Upon-Hull, Manchester, Slough, Thamesmead and Thurrock the report painted a bleak picture of the quality of education received by the majority of children and young people at the time.

In 2003, David Bell, the then HMCI, published Access and Achievement in Urban Education: 10 years on, which collected data from 1,000 schools serving areas of urban deprivation and having more than 35% of their pupils on free school meals. The 2003 report identified a lack of progress in most of the schools covered by the 1993 study and pointed to some common features such as high pupil turnover and difficulties in teacher recruitment preventing schools from improving sufficiently.

The programme of work to inform Access and Achievement in Urban Education: 20 years on, will include a review panel of leading heads and academic experts who will seek to answer 5 key questions:

• Why are some children and young people more affected by socio-economic and educational disadvantage than others?
• What more can be done by parents and education providers to ensure the best possible start for those that need it most?
• Some schools are doing a great job for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. So what can we learn from them and how can we ensure that many more schools do as well as the best?
• Schools and colleges have greater autonomy now over their policies and use of resources. So how do we secure effective coordination and improvement of local education services in areas of the greatest educational need?
• What more needs to happen to ensure that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve success in employment and as citizens?

The expert panel will include representation from schools, local authorities, academia and the third sector.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 June 2012.

Outstanding headteacher Charlie Taylor was today appointed as the first permanent Chief Executive of the new Teaching Agency.

The Teaching Agency, based within the Department for Education, came into existence on 1st April 2012. It is responsible for ensuring the supply of high-quality teachers and training and for teacher regulation.

It also delivers policy for teachers and instructors; those working in Early Years; classroom-based school support staff; special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs); educational psychologists and examinations officers.

Mr Taylor will take up the new post from 3rd September 2012, taking over from Lin Hinnigan, who was appointed as an interim Chief Executive.

He is currently the department’s Expert Adviser on Behaviour. Previously he was the head teacher of The Willows, a special school for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties in West London. During his time at the school, he received two ‘outstanding’ Ofsted ratings.

Charlie Taylor said:

I am delighted to be able to take on this new role at such a key time.

Ensuring we have the very best professionals in our classrooms and schools, and working in Early Years, is vital. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and being part of the Teaching Agency team.

Mr Taylor has been a behavioural specialist for more than 10 years and has also worked as a freelance behaviour consultant, coaching teachers in behaviour management techniques. He has taught every age group, from nursery to 16-year-olds, working in tough inner-city primary and comprehensive schools. He lives in London and is married with 3 children.

Welcoming the appointment, Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

I am delighted that Charlie Taylor has accepted this vital role. The skills and experience he brings will ensure the success of this new and important agency.

I would also like to thank Lin Hinnigan for her excellent work setting up the agency and guiding it through its early days.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 June 2012.

• Extra bursaries for primary maths teachers and trainee teachers who work in the most challenging schools
• Weeding out poor teacher training providers

Schools will soon get more of a say in how teachers are trained, including taking on new trainee teachers themselves, under new plans to be unveiled today (Thursday 14 June).

The new School Direct programme, starting this September, will allow schools to train top graduates as teachers in the subjects and phases they need, in the way they want them trained. They will also be able to choose which accredited provider – such as top universities or Teaching School partnerships – they want to work with.

This will give schools greater control of how new teachers are recruited and trained, encourage more school-led partnerships for teacher training, and will help drive up the quality of teacher training.

The plans include:

• Extra financial incentives for trainee primary maths teachers and trainee teachers who work in the most challenging schools
• More collaborative school-led teacher training for top graduates
• Weeding out poor-quality initial teacher training (ITT) providers while guaranteeing allocations for outstanding ones
• A new employment-based training programme for high-calibre career changers

Speaking at the National College annual conference in Birmingham, Education Secretary Michael Gove will say:

The idea is a simple one: take the very best schools, ones that are already working to improve other schools, and put them in charge of teacher training and professional development for the whole system

The impact of these changes on initial teacher training will be revolutionary. By the end of this Parliament well over half of all training places will be delivered by schools

Each year around 30,000 teacher training places are allocated to a network of ITT providers for qualification-based courses. School involvement in the way the courses are designed or managed is limited and varies between providers. Schools do not always have an influence over who is recruited and how they are trained. Too many trainees are also on courses which Ofsted considers as only ‘satisfactory’.

From this September there will be more than 900 places on the new school-led School Direct programme – nearly double the expected level. The programme will be expanded massively over the next few years as it is opened to all schools. It is expected that Teaching Schools, academy chains and outstanding schools will take the lead, working with other schools in their area.

By the end of the Parliament we expect that as many as 10,000 students a year could be trained by schools that are either offering Schools Direct places or are full providers of teacher training.

New dedicated training route for high-calibre career changers

Starting in September 2013, around 5000 teacher training places will be made available for high-calibre career changers, through a new employment-based strand of School Direct. This scheme will replace the current Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) which has been in place since 1998.

Whilst the GTP has delivered some superb training, and recruited some brilliant teachers, it has also suffered from serious flaws. Recruitment has not always been targeted at high-fliers, it has been difficult to access and apply to the programme, and some schools have been left frustrated by restrictions over salary and training.

The new School Direct route will build on the GTP’s strengths and give schools greater control. Those who have already gained at least 3 years’ valuable experience in the world of work will be able to apply for the programme via a single website.

Other plans include:

• Extra £2,000 incentive on top of current bursaries for top graduates who train to become primary specialist maths teachers. Trainees with a grade B or above in A level maths would qualify for this additional bursary.
• Driving up the quality of initial teacher training (ITT) providers. ITT providers rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted will get guaranteed allocations of places for two years at least, at their current level. Good providers will receive some allocations, but no places guaranteed, whilst satisfactory providers will receive no allocations. All providers will be able to supplement their central allocations by working with schools to train their School Direct trainees.

Providers rated as ‘requires improvement’ under the new Ofsted framework will not get any central government places and if they receive two consecutive ratings in this category, they will be closed down.

• Incentivising the best trainee teachers to work in the most challenging schools. If a School Direct trainee spends the majority of their training in a challenging school, they will receive an extra 25% in bursary payments. For those starting this September, they will receive up to £5,000 extra. Challenging schools using the employment-based School Direct route will receive 10% extra – up to £2,000. This additional funding will allow them to offer higher salaries or better training.

The speech made by Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State for Education, on 14 June 2012.

Thank you Steve for that introduction and thank you for all the great work you and the College have done over the past year.

Can I also take this opportunity to thank Steve’s tireless deputy Toby Salt – who is about to take up a new challenge as Chief Executive of the Ormiston Academy chain – and Andy Buck, who has done a brilliant job in establishing Teaching Schools – who is going to work for ULT?

It turns out that a downside of devolving power from the centre is that is creates great career opportunities for some of our best people.

But I think that’s a price worth paying…..

Those of you who have heard me speak before are probably expecting a brief tour around the educational policies of those countries that dominate the OECD’s PISA league table.

And it’s true we have looked all over the world in developing our policies.

Our curriculum reforms were inspired by the high expectations for all children in Singapore and Hong Kong.

The success of Finland and South Korea has informed our focus on getting more of our very best graduates into teaching.

The example of charter schools in New Orleans and New York – which have transformed the life chances of poorer children in those cities – have been critical in developing free school policy.

London

But while I’ve been inspired by Singapore, Finland and New Orleans another success story has perhaps had an even greater influence on my thinking. And it’s one that’s closer to home. London.

Until 2004 London always underperformed the rest of the country in exams. In the seventies and eighties inner London schools were seen by many as a by-word for failure. While some were, in fact, doing well in difficult circumstances there were serious problems. Poor behaviour was endemic, aspiration was low, life chances were stunted.

But over the last few decades there has been a transformation.

The difference between London and the rest of the country may not seem that great at first glance. 62 per cent of children achieve five good GCSEs with English and Maths compared with 58 per cent nationally.

Dig a little deeper, though, and there are some startling results. Across the country just 35 per cent of children on free school meals achieve five good GCSEs with English and Maths – a scandalously low figure – but in inner-London 52 per cent meet it – just a few points off the average for all children.

And this gap between the achievement of children in the capital and elsewhere exists for all ethnic groups and all income bands. For instance almost half of London’s poorest white pupils get five good GCSEs with English and Maths compared with 37 per cent nationally.

Nor has the success been patchy – there have been big improvements across the capital. There is now just one London secondary school below the floor standard.

So how has this happened?

Of course London has many advantages – it is a dynamic city with a fantastic cultural heritage. It benefits from a diverse mix of, often highly aspirational, communities. As the centre of so many professions – politics, media, the law – it is much easier to identify role models for young people than in other parts of the country.

But those things have been true for many years and London’s success is a more recent phenomenon. What’s really made the difference is that London has been the laboratory for educational reform over the past decade.

The last Government launched the London Challenge in 2003. There were several elements to this but the three most important were:

• Sponsored Academies
• The use of outstanding schools to mentor others
• A focus on improving the quality of teaching – especially through Teach First

Each of these strands has had a profound effect on performance and on my thinking. In each case this Government has learnt the lessons and is spreading the benefits of these reforms across the rest of the country.

The sponsored academy revolution began in London. Until 2010 there were more in London than the rest of the country put together – and there are still more than in any other region.

Nearly all of them have seen massive improvements from their predecessor school – given a new lease of life by a committed sponsor and the independence to innovate. But some in particular have been so incredibly successful that they’ve had a transformative impact on expectations in their area.

There are a small number of schools where children on free school meals both represent more than a third of all pupils and achieve above the national average. These are the jewels in the crown of the state education system – a standing rebuke to everyone who claims poorer children are destined to do worse than others. And when you look for them across London you start to see a pattern.

In Hackney there is one such school. It won’t surprise anyone to learn that it’s Mossbourne Academy.

In Southwark there are two – ARK Walworth Academy and Harris Bermondsey Academy.

In Westminster there are three – Pimlico Academy, Paddington ULT Academy and one non-academy: St. Marylebone Church of England School.

In each of these local authorities the incredible performance of new sponsored academies has acted as a spur to others. In Southwark the percentage of free school meal children achieving five good GCSE with English and Maths has increased by 23 percentage points in 4 years; in Westminster 18 percentage points; in Hackney by 15.

Since the election this Government – inspired by these successes – has turbo-charged the sponsored academy programme. By this September we will have increased the number we inherited by well over 100 per cent. And, crucially, we have expanded the programme into primary schools – more than 200 have now been brokered and 34 are already open.

I know this has been one of our more controversial reforms – some of the usual suspects have sought to protect underperforming schools from necessary change. But it seems deeply irresponsible to me to allow schools to fail year after year when organisations, like Harris, that have proven their ability to turn round schools time and time again are willing to help.

Academies, though, are only part of what made the London Challenge successful. The leadership strand of the programme focused on identifying “system leaders” to support weaker schools. This proved extremely successful. Schools in Tower Hamlets and Newham – like Swanlea and Rokeby – have been amongst the fastest improvers in recent years – and have done so by working closely with each other to drive up standards.

The legacy of this success is widespread support for system leadership as the best method of school improvement. As former chief inspector Christine Gilbert put it in a recent speech: “we’ve reached a tipping point in favour of schools, school leaders, and teachers themselves, as the primary drivers of systemic improvement”.

That is reflected both in the National Leader of Education programme – which is being massively expanded by this Government – as well as the great work being done by good and outstanding schools that have converted to academy status to help others.

Indeed one of the Tower Hamlets’ schools originally identified as requiring support under the London Challenge – Bethnal Green Technology College – converted to academy status as an outstanding school in January this year and is, as a condition of that status, supporting Dartford Technology College, a school currently in special measures.

Increasingly the very best schools are going beyond ad hoc support for weaker schools and establishing their own chains and federations – in the same way Harris, Haberdashers and John Cabot City Technology Colleges did in the early years of the academy programme. 85 outstanding schools are now signed up as academy sponsors.

The third key strand of the London Challenge was a focus on increasing the number of outstanding teachers through professional development and recruitment of the best graduates via Teach First – which was in its first few years a predominantly London centred programme.

Of the 1,000 Teach First trainees who completed training under the last Government over three-quarters were based in a London school.

While these 750 plus teachers represent a small percentage of the London workforce they have had a disproportionate impact. It is notable that the schools I mentioned earlier that help children on free school meals outperform the average have all relied heavily on Teach First in their recruitment.

Indeed many Teach Firsters have already reached leadership positions in these schools and others like them. They are often young people who would not have considered teaching without the additional prestige of Teach First, or the opportunity to start working in a challenging school straight away, but who have now decided to commit their lives to helping some of the most disadvantaged children in our society match – or supersede – their own achievements.

The Importance of teaching

Their success emphasises one of the key messages of international research over the past few years: no education system can outperform its teachers and the most successful jurisdictions, though they may differ hugely in other aspects, share a focus on recruiting the very best graduates and training them in outstanding institutions.

Under this Government Teach First have been given the funding to grow in commensurate proportion to their ambitions. By the end of this Parliament they plan to train 1,500 graduates a year; three times as many as they were doing at the beginning. They have developed a bespoke primary programme and expanded to all parts of the country.

But we are not just growing Teach First itself we are also applying the key lessons of that programme to the whole teacher training system. And how we’re doing that is what I want to focus on today.

Some changes we’ve already made.

One lesson from Teach First, as well as of PISA, is the importance of attracting the best graduates.

So we have introduced bursaries of up to £20,000 to attract the very best science and maths graduates. And we have raised the bar for potential trainees – they now need at least a second class degree to receive a bursary – to signal to undergraduates the intellectual rigour required to become a teacher.

We know that a big reason for Teach First’s success in recruiting hundreds of graduates from our best universities is the sense of prestige attached to a programme badged as elite. We now need to extend that sense of prestige to teaching as a whole.

As a result of these changes we have already seen a 12 per cent increase in the proportion of candidates with a 2:1 or first class degree accepted on to maths, physics, chemistry and modern foreign languages teacher training courses.

In physics – traditionally the hardest subject to recruit for – there has been an incredible 29 per cent rise in the proportion of graduates with a good degree accepted on to courses.

And attitudes are changing too.

In their annual survey of final year undergraduates the Teaching Agency found that:

81 per cent agreed that teaching had real status and kudos – up 4 per cent since 2010.

72 per cent thought their friends and family would react positively to them becoming a teacher – up 6 per cent since 2010.

And, encouragingly, 71 per cent thought the image of teaching is improving.

Schools at the heart of teaching training

But it’s not just about ensuring that we recruit the very best talent available. We also need to make sure that our very best educators are at the heart of training each new generation of teachers.

And the best vehicle for doing this is something else that started in London as part of the Challenge – the Teaching School – pioneered by George Berwick the visionary headteacher of Ravens Wood School.

There were just a handful of Teaching Schools in 2010 but the potential was obvious. The idea is a simple one: take the very best schools, ones that are already working to improve other schools, and put them in charge of teacher training and professional development for the whole system.

Via the great work of the National College this Government has already set up a network of 200 Teaching Schools – with the aim of opening 500 by the end of the Parliament. Their impact has been immediate and profound.

Fantastic projects have popped up all over the country – not driven by the demands of Government or by Ministers’ prejudices but by school leaders.

Whether it’s Fairlawn Primary in Lewisham supporting Maths teaching across the borough.

Or Wroxham school in Hertfordshire working with Cambridge University to develop a new pedagogy that breaks free of previous obsessions with ability-labels.

Or the network of Teaching Schools across the North-West who are developing their own school improvement programme for local schools.

And, of course, nearly all Teaching Schools are getting much more involved in teacher training.

Pushing more teacher training through schools has been an aim of successive Governments since the late eighties. And there have been important initiatives. The last Conservative Government allowed groups of schools to form together to offer teacher training. The Labour Government introduced the Graduate Teacher Programme – allowing typically older trainees to learn on the job – as well as Teach First.

In fact this is a global shift. As the OECD’s head of education Andreas Schleicher put it in a speech last year “many countries have shifted the emphasis from academic preparation to preparing professionals in schools instead. Teachers now get into classrooms earlier, spend more time on-site in schools, and get more and better support in the process”.

But previous efforts in this country have always been piecemeal – hamstrung by the lack of a proper network of outstanding schools to deliver training on a serious scale.
Now we have the Teaching School network.

Earlier this year we launched a pilot version of a new programme called School Direct. Teaching Schools were offered the opportunity to bid for teacher training places.

Those participating will be able to recruit their own trainees and develop their own training programme in partnership with a university. In return for this additional control the schools will be expected to find a job for the trainee once they finish their training. As such it represents a better deal for both schools and trainees.
Because of the short notice and the select group of schools involved we expected a maximum of 500 places would be bid for – instead it was over 1,000, of which 914 were allocated. We were blown away by schools’ enthusiasm.

Now these places have been allocated, the schools involved are already recruiting trainees; and working with a wide-range of universities to develop high-quality training programmes; and putting teacher training at the heart of their plans for the future.

For example Harris academies have decided to partner with Canterbury Christ Church university and have worked closely with them to select trainees and design a training programme. Harris staff will be as closely involved as possible in the core teaching days on the programme, and will increase this involvement as the programme evolves. Staff from Harris have already accompanied staff from Canterbury Christ Church on a research trip to Finland.

And Cabot academies have developed a programme that will see each trainee mentored by an existing outstanding teacher in their chain – following a bespoke 10 day induction in their schools before Autumn term begins.

As we grow the Teaching School network, many more heads have come to us, asking to be involved.

So we are going to expand School Direct significantly over the next few years.

Schools won’t have to be part of a Teaching School alliance to get involved but we envisage that most will – because of the advantages of training across a group of schools.

And while we anticipate that the majority of schools participating will want a strong partnership with a higher education institution, we expect that some of the very best schools will want to become their own provider.

Indeed some of the most forward thinking Teaching Schools and academy chains have already gone down this route.

Like the Kemnal academies trust who will use the wealth of experience in teacher training across their member schools to offer courses in English, mathematics, physics, chemistry and MFL from September.

Or Tudor Grange Teaching School alliance who will offer courses in the same subjects from September 2012 with Masters level credits awarded by Cumbria University.

By the end of the Parliament we expect as many as 10,000 students a year could be trained by schools that are either offering Schools Direct places or are full providers of teacher training.

So there will be a spectrum of engagement for those schools that want to get involved. Some schools may not want to get involved at all. Many will want to participate in School Direct – having the opportunity to recruit staff and develop training programmes with the support and assistance of existing providers. Others will want to run the whole show – taking control of the process from start to finish.

As these programmes grow, more and more schools will be able to recruit, train and hire their own teachers; working in partnership with other schools and top-quality ITT providers to give new teachers the best possible start to their careers.

New recruits will learn and train in schools, working with experienced teachers and putting their lessons into practice from day one.

And they will be recruited with the expectation that they will be employed at the school at the end of their training – something which the traditional, university-based PGCE could never offer.

Of course, for existing providers involved in teacher training this will mean some big changes.

We want to ensure the very best providers remain committed to teacher education so universities, and others, rated “outstanding” by Ofsted will be guaranteed their existing level of places for the next two years.

But we will no longer guarantee places to institutions rated good or lower. They will compete for training places through School Direct, designing courses in collaboration with schools. If schools don’t rate their provision, they will go out of business.

And we’re going to work quickly in identifying and shutting down providers which simply aren’t good enough. If they receive two “Requires Improvement” judgements under the new – tougher – Ofsted framework – they will be swiftly de-accredited.
If an ITT provider isn’t delivering the sort of high-quality, highly-respected training which each new teacher deserves and needs – then they have no place delivering training at all.

Recruiting the best career changers

Along with recruiting the best university-leavers and ensuring they are trained in the best schools and universities, I also want to do more to attract more of the best and brightest career-changers.

The Graduate Teacher Programme, or GTP, has been in place since 1998. In that time it has delivered some superb training, and recruited some brilliant teachers.

But it has also suffered from some serious flaws. Recruitment has been ad hoc – there has never been a sense that the programme is targeted at high-fliers.

There has never been a central website that any career-changer interested in becoming a teacher could go to to find places.

And sometimes schools have felt frustrated by restrictions over salary and training.

So we are going to close the GTP, but build on its strengths to launch a new, school-led teacher training programme for the best career-changers.

From September 2013, a new employment-based strand of School Direct will be available for candidates who have already gained at least three years valuable experience in other careers.

Any school that wants to participate will be asked to advertise places on a single website which will allow the Teaching Agency to better market the programme to the target audience.

Schools will have much greater control of funding – they will be able to decide how much to spend on trainees’ salaries and how much on training – giving them the autonomy and flexibility to decide how to get the biggest possible bang for their buck.

And to help schools in deprived areas to recruit and train the very best teachers, schools with 35 per cent or more of their pupils on free school meals will receive a 10 per cent funding premium.

In 2013-14, we will fund up to 5,000 places on employment-based School Direct- more than the number of places on the GTP this year.

Conclusion

The cumulative impact of these changes on initial teacher training will be revolutionary. By the end of this parliament well over half of all training places will be delivered by schools whether through direct provision; Teach First; School Direct; or our new employment-based route.

Most of the rest will be doing PGCE courses in existing providers rated outstanding.

The weakest providers will no longer be in business. They will have been de-accredited following Ofsted inspections or unable to persuade schools to commission support from them.

This represents a huge opportunity for school leaders – to take control of teacher training – to create programmes that reflect their school’s ethos – to recruit better trainees.

I was delighted to read in the National College’s independent survey of 2,250 school leaders that 98 per cent think it’s a great job. It is a great job and one that makes such a difference. I want to thank you for all that you have done so far as leaders to improve the life chances of the children and young people in your care. I know that your roles are challenging and that this government is asking even more of you but that is because I believe the children and young people in this country deserve the very best.

I am asking you to work with me to move these important proposals forward. It is a big responsibility – you will need to show that you can manage the development and improvement of the profession rather than looking to others to do it for you. But if London’s improvement has taught us anything it is that putting schools in control of their own destiny is the key to success.