Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 48
48
Accepted
Inconsistent upskilling opportunities undermine potential to mitigate subject teacher shortages.
Conclusion
Beyond the specific subject knowledge enhancement programmes that may be delivered within initial teacher training, upskilling is a useful and effective way for non-specialist teachers to gain the necessary knowledge to teach certain subjects once qualified. This approach has the potential to significantly mitigate the impact of subject specific teacher shortages. However, the current inconsistency of opportunities to upskill across subjects undermines its potential. (Paragraph 201) Flexibility and workload
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the importance of upskilling and commits to encouraging subject associations to support schools in accessing training for upskilling. It also states that new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will facilitate networking and training access.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The current Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) programme is available to support applicants who have a conditional offer of a place on an ITT programme leading to the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). SKE is a course designed to enhance the subject knowledge of prospective teacher trainees in their chosen ITT subject. They might not have a relevant degree in the subject they want to teach or have a degree obtained more than five academic years before. SKE is currently available in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computing, and languages. High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The government’s ambition is for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and maths, and ensures every young person gets the opportunity to develop creative, digital, and speaking and listening skills particularly prized by employers. The government has made a manifesto commitment to improve the quality of maths teaching across nurseries and primary schools, learning from the success of phonics. The Department funds the Maths Hubs programme, which is supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. Local Maths Hubs provide school-to-school support focussed on maths subject knowledge and pedagogy training for teachers.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗