Institute of Education
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IfL welcomes subsidy for maths teaching programme

The Institute for Learning (IfL) has welcomed the Education and Training Foundation’s announcement that it will subsidise the six-day GCSE maths enhancement programme for teachers and trainers in further education and skills.

IfL’s chief executive, Toni Fazaeli, said, “This is a timely announcement, given how many teachers will have extra responsibilities for maths and English GCSEs and for numeracy and literacy through functional skills and 16–19 study programmes. Helping ensure that students who do not succeed in getting A*–C grades in GCSE maths go on to achieve that qualification will mostly take place in further education settings, and this programme should help teachers develop their subject knowledge and become better equipped for teaching GCSE maths.

“IfL also encourages experienced teachers to get involved as professional development leads who will be trained by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) to deliver programmes in each region through the Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Training (CETTs).

“It is good to see financial support for in-service training, and we believe that this should be extended to funding programmes for English teachers and those wishing to teach learners with learning difficulties or disabilities (LLDD). We are concerned that the bursaries announced in August are for pre-service teacher training only, rather than also for in-service training, and that the funding needs to be used by March 2014. England’s poor rankings in the OECD’s survey of adult skills and our high youth unemployment point to the need for accelerated, increased and longer-term investment. England must have enough teachers in further education with the appropriate training and qualifications, especially in maths and English.”

Note

For further information about the NCETM programme, visit https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/41310

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