Background

What are Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training?
What is happening in the East of England?
What is the EECETT doing in the second year?
How can people and organisations get involved?

Context

In response to the 2006 White Paper, Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances, the government introduced reforms to the regulations on initial teacher training, and continuing professional development (CPD) which came into effect in September 2007. The regulations apply to all FE colleges and other providers that are publicly funded. The reforms were heralded in Equipping our Teachers for the Future in 2004 and seek to address systemic weaknesses in the national system of teacher training identified by Ofsted in 2003.

Since September 2007, all new entrants to teaching in the sector have been required to complete an award which is mandatory for any new teacher of provision that is publicly funded. Teachers can progress to either, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) for those in a full teaching role, or to Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) for those in an associate teaching role. The qualifications have been developed based on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) model, offering core and optional units at different levels.

What are Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training?

Part of the government’s agenda to underpin the above reforms was to establish a national network of Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETTs). CETTs are partnerships of FE stakeholders aimed at raising the quality of teacher education through pooling resources and developing and sharing effective practice. The eleven partnerships across England were awarded CETT status to identify and disseminate good practice and to bring people together to support quality improvement for all teacher education in the sector. All CETTs became operational in September 2007.

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What is happening in the East of England?

During its first year EECETT developed its network of ITT providers and employer groups to ensure that expertise was shared, capacity was increased and quality of provision improved and that the fundamental building blocks of partnerships were in place. It:

• Began to create and maintain a sense of ownership amongst all partners.
• Recognised the importance of action research as a way of not only learning from practice but also providing data for dissemination and evidence for replication.
• Identified partner development needs for action research to take place.
• Acknowledged the level of expertise amongst partners and made arrangements for effective skills sharing and other peer mentoring opportunities.

It also addressed the following set of objectives:

1. Construct a Research and Development strategy.
2. Develop and embed a strategy for Equality and Diversity.
3. Maintain an EECETT website/moodle.
4. Promote high quality mentoring at all levels of the partnership.
5. Integrate best practice in ILPs with new CPD requirements.
6. Maintain a coherent and effective communication and dissemination framework.
7. Effectively manage, monitor and evaluate CETT programme of work at all levels of the CETT structure.

Fundamental to EECETT operations are Sub-Groups of the Management Group focused on the key concerns of:

• Mentoring;
• Equality and Diversity;
• Individual Learning Plans
• Research and Development
• 14-19 Diplomas/Functional Skills
• Skills for Life

The Research and Development group sponsors and supports research activities in each of the other areas. Underpinning all group activity is the development of the EECETT website and moodle.

EECETT has created a network of ITT providers and representatives of employer groups across the Region, to ensure that expertise is shared, capacity is increased and quality of provision is improved. The EECETT has:

1. Supported capacity building across providers to support the delivery of the new regulations

2. Designed and implemented a research and development strategy with clear priorities for action and dissemination across the CETT and the region

3. Developed and embedded a strategy for equality and diversity across CETT practice

4. Established a website and moodle for the EECETT to facilitate dissemination of good practice and provide access to resources for teachers and trainees across the region

5. Promoted high quality mentoring at all levels of the partnership and build capacity to meet new national standards for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status

6. Improved the quality and consistency of Individual Learning Plans in use across the CETT

7. Developed and implemented a coherent and effective communication and dissemination framework across the region

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What are we doing in the second year?

With the advent of the second year of operations, involvement in EECETT has been extended via the development of county based regional cluster groups, known as Sub-CETTs, tasked with encouraging the inclusion of Associate Partners and Members in EECETT activities.

How can you get involved?

Organisations wishing to become Associate Partners or Members should approach the appropriate Sub CETT Co-ordinator for their county:

Activities and support include:

• Dissemination events locally to inform all providers in the Learning and Skills sector of the requirements for Initial teacher Training and how the CETT can support them
• Specialist networks for trainees across the sector
• Dissemination for teacher trainer providers through the ACER Teacher Education Forum.
• Training Mentor trainers
• Training for new mentors, especially for subject specialists and providing a database that all providers can access.
• Support for developing Individual Learning Plans
• Establishing a site on the ACER Moodle for holding specialist resources.
• Chat rooms on the moodle for specialist areas of ITT.

Further information about CETTs nationally can be found on the QIA website.

Teacher education providers, employers and trainees can access information and gain from the work of EECETT:

1.This website will hold information and resources for employers, teacher educators and trainees

2. Links to all other CETTs nationally and to QIA for ITT resources

3. Dissemination events in each county for employers and teacher educators

4. Sharing emerging ideas and practice with Teacher Educators through the Teacher Education Forum that meets three times a year

5. Specialist networks for trainees in priority areas.