Education secretary Nicky Morgan has said that the programmes will be delivered by a network of more than 600 Teaching Schools, which will then be charged with spreading their best practice to others.
At the same time, the DfE has also backed plans for a College of Teaching and invited organisations to apply for funding to help the set-up of this new professional body for teachers. A consultation document over both proposals has been launched and is open for comment until February 3.
It does not give an indication as to the level of funding that the DfE intends to provide for the CPD programmes, but states: ‘We propose to establish a new high-profile fund to drive the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based professional development for teachers. This will be delivered in a way that has the broadest possible impact, reaching schools across the country, particularly those most in need of support.
‘This additional funding will be a real catalyst for change in the culture and practice of professional development across the teaching profession.’
The proposal is that Teaching Schools be allowed to apply for the funding, both to ‘support the development of new initiatives and to extend the reach of excellent existing programmes’.
The consultation adds: ‘New funding will be contingent on strong evaluation plans and we will work with partners, such as the Education Endowment Foundation, to ensure quality, rigour and co-ordination of the evaluations.
‘Teaching Schools in receipt of funding will also be expected to work widely with partners – including other Teaching Schools and the schools already in their alliances, but also bringing in more outlying schools, particularly those requiring improvement – to ensure
that they have the broadest possible impact, with support reaching where it
is most needed.’
The consultation also proposes that the DfE works with external organisations to develop an online platform to support the sharing of knowledge between teachers. To download the consultation document, visit http://bit.ly/13oqjFp