Russell Group calls on Government to reconsider recommendations from ITT review

20 August 2021

The Russell Group of universities has called on the Government to reconsider proposals for reform of teacher training programmes in its response to a consultation on the plans.

The group’s full response to the Government consultation on the recommendations from an independent review of teacher training can be found below. In its response, the Russell Group raises concerns about the potential impact of the recommendations. It believes they could threaten university autonomy and have a negative impact on the quality of teacher training programmes and partnerships between universities and schools.

A Russell Group spokesperson said:

“Russell Group universities work with over 2,500 schools to train more than 5,500 teachers each year. We share the Government’s ambition to deliver the highest possible standard of training, however we are concerned the independent market review proposals will lead to an overly prescriptive approach which threatens the autonomy of higher education providers, the quality of teacher training programmes and their partnerships with schools. 

“We are calling on the Government to listen to the clear feedback from the sector, pause the process and work with providers to identify ways of addressing low quality provision while protecting the excellence that already exists across the system.”

The full consultation response can be found here.