Birmingham schools among first national teaching schools
Four schools in Birmingham are among the first in the country to be selected for an important new role aimed at further raising standards.
Bartley Green, Arthur Terry and Bishop Challoner secondary schools, plus Greet primary school, are four of only 100 schools in England to be granted teaching school status - a new designation entitling it to lead the training and professional development for staff.
They were selected by the National College for School Leadership which had about 1,200 expressions of interest in the first recruitment round. Staff from the school will now be invited to the National College's Learning and Conference Centre in Nottingham in September for a formal induction.
The milestone marks a shift towards school-centred training and development. Teaching schools will be responsible for leading a group of schools, working with other partners including at least one university, to deliver high quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career.
Councillor Les Lawrence, cabinet member for children young people and families, said: “This is phenomenal recognition of the quality of education provision in this city, both at primary and secondary level, as exemplified by these four schools that have been chosen in the first instance. There are a number of other schools that are equally qualified so this is just the start.”
The National College has responsibility for the designation and quality of the teaching schools programme, working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) as the national network grows to 500 teaching schools by 2014.
Steve Munby, chief executive of the National College, said: “To take on this role, teaching schools like those in Birmingham need to be among the best in the country - outstanding in their own performance and have a track record of raising standards through school-to-school support.
“Over time teaching schools will harness the finest teaching talent in the profession to drive school improvement, and bring real benefits to pupils. Trainees will learn from the best teachers in action and those who want to step up to more senior leadership positions will be exposed to excellent practice within and beyond their immediate school.”
The first year of the programme will be a design and development phase. As they develop, teaching schools working with other schools and universities will help to provide a strong supply of new teachers, develop leaders and the next generation of heads, and support schools in challenging circumstances.
