The first programmes of initial teacher education to be accredited by the Education Workforce Council’s (EWC) ITE Accreditation Board are launched this month.
The new programmes have been assessed and evaluated and will continue to be monitored by the Board to
ensure they meet the accreditation criteria set by the Welsh Government.
Introduced in line with recommendations from Prof. John Furlong’s review of ITE in 2015, the programmes
take an entirely new approach to teacher education where universities and schools work closely together and
share their knowledge. This pioneering approach is intended to raise the quality of provision, and attract
candidates with the right skills, qualifications and aptitude to enter a career in teaching.
Prof. John Furlong, former chairperson for the ITE Accreditation Board and adviser to the Welsh Government
and the EWC, said:
“The new approach is needed because education in Wales is changing fundamentally. The curriculum,
assessment, management and leadership and professional development will all look very different in a few
years’ time.”
He added:
“Taken together, the changes indicate a very different idea of what it will mean to be a teacher in Wales in the
future where teachers don’t just have to understand the ‘what’ of teaching and learning, they also have to
understand the ‘how’ and the ‘why’.”
This month sees new programmes being delivered by the Cardiff Partnership, CaBan – Chester (Caer) / Bangor
North Wales Partnership, the Aberystwyth ITE Partnership and Yr Athrofa: Professional Learning Partnership
(APLP).
Elaine Sharpling, director of ITE at the APLP, University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), said:
“Our new curriculum is innovative and forward-thinking and the APLP’s new suite of teacher education
programmes have been designed with Wales’ ambitious reform agenda firmly in mind.
“In short, our new national curriculum will require a new type of teacher and we are delighted to have been
able to play our part in the transformation of ITE for the benefit of all in Welsh education.”