Government urged to invest £260m in teacher training to boost school standards

The Government should fund a new national entitlement to teacher training to raise school standards, a report has said.

All teachers should be guaranteed free access to a “golden thread” of core professional qualifications which would effectively serve as a training “passport” for their career, a think tank and charity has suggested.

The paper by the IPPR think tank and the Ambition Institute has called on the Government to invest £260 million in teacher training as a “first step” as it suggested the funding could reach 75% of the workforce within four years.

Additional funding for teacher training could close the disadvantage gap among pupils and reduce teacher shortages, the think tank and charity said.

It comes as unions have warned of possible strike action over teachers’ pay.

Both the National Education Union (NEU) and the NASUWT union have said they could ballot members for industrial action if the Government’s final pay and funding offer was not improved.

The report by the IPPR and the Ambition Institute has called for a universal teacher development entitlement for all teachers and school leaders.

Teachers in schools with the most challenging circumstances should receive most support and opportunities – including free places on all government-funded programmes and grants to schools to cover the costs of providing cover, to help close the attainment gap, the paper added.

Labour pledged in their election manifesto to introduce a new “teacher training entitlement” to ensure teachers stayed up to date on best practice with continuing professional development.

Loic Menzies, IPPR associate fellow and lead author of the report, said: “Investment in the expertise of all teachers and the wider education workforce is the best way to unleash a powerful cycle of improvement.

“Right now, schools face a workforce crisis alongside a growing attainment gap.

“If we want schools to serve children of all backgrounds better, we need to invest in teachers and others in the classroom.”

He added: “Free access to a ‘golden thread’ of high-quality training opportunities should sit at the heart of that commitment and would empower teachers to provide the world-class education our children deserve.”

Marie Hamer, executive director for strategy and impact at Ambition Institute, said: “Effective teaching disproportionately benefits pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities.

“If we want high and rising standards, then investing in developing expert teachers is our best option.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “We cannot raise standards without raising the expertise of our teachers and school leaders. That is why professional development is so important.

“Crucially, this investment needs be implemented through proven, contextually informed strategies and prioritised in those places that need it most, and for those pupils who need it most.”

It comes as a report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found a “workforce quality gap” between schools with the most and least disadvantaged pupils.

The EPI think tank’s report, also published on Tuesday, called on the Government to boost professional development and increase retention incentives to retain experienced subject specialists in disadvantaged settings.

On Tuesday, the Department for Education (DfE) said thousands more children are set to benefit from the Government’s new school improvement teams.

The regional improvement for standards and excellence (Rise) teams in England will expand their reach from an initial 32 schools to more than 200 schools reaching more than 120,000 children, the DfE said.

In February, the Government described more than 600 schools in England as “stuck” as they have received consecutive poor Ofsted judgments.

The DfE said schools that are allocated Rise experts will see up to £100,000 made available for specialist support.