The classroom is modernising – there are new challenges relating to the increasingly complex mix of pupil needs in the classroom, aligned with the associated impact on student attendance and behaviour. Alongside these, the expectations of the workforce are also evolving. As drivers for both recruitment and retention, teachers are attaching greater value to factors such as school culture, wellbeing, clear career pathways, and the availability of technology to support classroom delivery.
Creating a system that provides appropriate training, development and progression will be central to addressing those challenges and meeting the needs and demands of today’s workforce. This is not without potential hurdles, including: lack of access to funding for smaller schools and those not part of Multi-Academy Trusts; the complexities of dealing with multiple training providers; meeting the diverse training needs of different staff and settings; and ensuring the provision of adequate SEND-related training, with regards to teachers in specialist settings as well as those in mainstream classrooms.
This issue has even greater significance in the context of the recently published Schools White Paper, which sets out the government’s much-anticipated vision for improving standards, increasing accountability and promoting inclusion across the school system. The proposals have significant implications for schools and their workforces, with the biggest risk being the gap between what is being asked of teachers and what is being done to support them, including in relation to the paper’s wide-ranging SEND reforms. The White Paper outlines proposals for enhanced teacher training (following January’s announcement of a £200m teacher training programme focused on SEND and inclusion) – and, certainly, effective reskilling is critical if teachers are to thrive in classrooms that are needing to be more inclusive.
This roundtable – drawing on EPI’s Effective School Groups data tool and wider Workforce research – brought together senior policymakers, school leaders and sector experts to discuss what upskilling the workforce for the modern classroom needs to look like, what is required to support schools to access and deliver it and, in light of the White Paper, what more is needed from policy to help embed an effective approach.
Partner with us
This roundtable was an invitation-only event as part of the Education Policy Institute’s partnership programme. To discuss running a private roundtable with EPI, please contact Tim Archer (tim.archer@epi.org.uk) or Adam Richards-Gray (adam.richards-gray@epi.org.uk) – or you can find out more about wider partnership opportunities here
