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25 July 2006 : Column 1469W—continued
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many newly qualified teachers obtained employment in full-time teaching positions in schools related to the subject in which they trained in 2006. [87955]
Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what training teachers receive on how to deal with children with (a) special educational needs and (b) communication disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [87960]
Mr. Dhanda: In order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status, all trainee teachers must demonstrate that they understand their responsibilities under the statutory Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, know how to seek advice from specialists on less common types of SEN, can differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including those with SEN, and within that pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties, and can identify and support pupils who experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.
The current standards for teachers are under review. Once revised, it is proposed that they will be strengthened to include a standard which requires teachers to know and comply with current legislation on well being of children and young people, one which requires teachers to know and understand the role of others when dealing with children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and one which requires teachers to communicate effectively with parents and carers.
Induction Standards require Newly Qualified Teachers to demonstrate that they can plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils in their classes with SEN, with or without a statement, and in consultation with the school’s SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO), can contribute to the planning for individual needs.
Once qualified, all teachers are expected to discuss their own development needs in performance management reviews, and to address development priorities. This could include strengthening knowledge and understanding of communication difficulties. Where schools have identified a need to strengthen knowledge and understanding of SEN or communication difficulties, as a school improvement priority, this should be addressed through their school improvement and development plans.
All schools receive a School Development Grant which they are able to use to support improvements in any aspect of teaching and learning. A wide variety of courses are available covering SEN, ranging from awareness-raising through to in-depth studies leading to specific qualifications. It is, however, a matter for individual teachers and their schools to determine their own particular training and development needs. Local authorities may retain a proportion of this grant, under certain conditions, to provide specific training and development of SEN.
The Department’s published SEN Strategy, ‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’ recognised the important of training and committed us to work
closely with the Training and Development Agency for Schools to ensure that initial teacher training and programmes of continuing professional development provide a good grounding in core skills and knowledge of SEN. We have commissioned the IDA to carry forward a range of initiatives designed to improve and strengthen the SEN skills and confidence of trainees, newly qualified and established teachers. These initiatives will be implemented over the period 2005-08 at a cost of approximately £1.1 m.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers (a) retired and (b) retired on the grounds of ill health, broken down by type of ill health, in each year since 1997. [88441]
Jim Knight: The following tables provide: (a) the number of teachers who retired in each year from 1989-90 to 2004-05 broken down by the type of award, (premature, age and ill health); and (b) ill health retirements by diagnosis in each 12-month period from 1 October 2002, the earliest date from which data have been collected in this form.
Further information on teacher retirements has been published in the Statistics of Education School Workforce in England Volume, 2005 edition, which can be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000633/index.shtml.
| Retirements from the maintained schools sector( 1) : Type of award and sex by year of award, 1989-90 to 2004-05—England | ||||||
| Premature( 2) | Age | |||||
| Financial year (1 April to 31 March) | Men | Women | Men and women | Men | Women | Men and women |
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