Ofsted’s review of teacher professional development had much for the sector to digest - from concerns that workload reduces time for teacher development to a call for more training on supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
However, notable positives included the report’s description of the Early Career Framework (ECF) and National Professional Qualifications as a “a significant step forward” for teacher professional development, and its conclusion that participants find those courses to be “relevant and of high quality”.
This is great news for teachers, who have long demanded and deserved an improvement in the professional development available to them, and a real credit to mentors and school leaders who are working hard in a challenging climate to make the reforms work.
The ECF is about as rare as a unicorn among education policies: it was truly sector-led, developed by a broad coalition straddling ideological divides, and born out of a groundswell of demand for better investment in the expertise of teachers.
The teacher development reforms overall represented buy-in, finally, from our politicians that any agenda to raise standards must have at its heart significant investment in the expertise of our workforce.
After all, high-quality professional learning has been shown to be twice as effective as other school-level factors in raising pupil achievement.
Teething problems with the Early Career Framework
However, as Ofsted acknowledges in its review, any reform - let alone a major one such as the introduction of the ECF - will have teething problems.
Specifically, a minority of early career teachers pointed to a lack of flexibility in the programme, a lack of opportunities to connect with their peers, or the unavailability of their mentors due to other school factors.
Clearly there’s more to be done, and there is a reassuring sense of urgency in our conversations with other lead providers and the Department for Education on how to better support mentors. From this July, mentors on our training programme will be able to exercise more choice over the training they receive.
Working hard to make a difference
However, it is clear from analysis of our programmes that schools and mentors have found time to support the development of their newest teachers. For instance, the vast majority of early career teachers are now benefiting from developmental observation and feedback at least once a fortnight.
Furthermore, in the second year of implementing the ECF, our schools have got even better at protecting time for mentors, with over half having a reduced teaching load to accommodate their mentoring role.
We think this is something to be celebrated: the majority of school leaders and mentors are going to great lengths to invest in their ECTs - based on a shared commitment to giving them the best start in our profession.
It’s also true that providers are constantly evolving our support. Feedback from our 50,000 participants across ECF and NPQ have led us to create more space for peer connection, add more subject-specific materials and introduce diagnostic tools so that the ECF curriculum can be tailored to each teacher’s needs.
What teachers want
As Ofsted’s report confirms, teachers see their own development as a priority because they believe it will help them do even better by their pupils.
They want more time for professional development, and they want to ensure that time is used exceptionally well - with the highest quality training leading to tangible improvements in their classroom.
We shouldn’t waste teachers’ precious time with anything other than well-evidenced pedagogical approaches and training methods proven to support teacher development.
Ultimately, as much thought should be put into teachers’ development as they put into the development of their pupils.
Building on a strong foundation
The introduction of a funded, quality-assured entitlement for every new teacher in England, as part of a “golden thread” of professional learning running through their career, was one of the most significant school reforms of recent times.
The review affirms this was the right thing for pupils, teachers and schools, but shows we now need to go further.
Every teacher deserves time dedicated to their development and access to evidence-led, high-quality training, not just those at the start of their career or pursuing leadership positions.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to cement the principle that the best way to improve outcomes for our young people - especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds - is by investing in teachers’ expertise and skills.
We can’t afford to let it go to waste.
Marie Hamer MBE is the executive director of strategy and impact at Ambition Institute
