Government pledges ongoing support for QTS and CPD

The government has outlined its intention to improve their support for qualified teacher status (QTS) and continued professional development (CPD) provisions in the UK.

Speaking at the Chartered College of Teaching's inaugural conference, education secretary Justine Greening confirmed that the QTS system - which qualifies teachers to work at maintained or special schools - will not be scrapped, but strengthened instead.

The Department for Education is making plans to work with the teaching sector to develop and introduce a revamped QTS from September 2019, in order to make it more desirable among school leaders for teaching staff to achieve this status.

Additionally, the first round of bidding for the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund has been announced, with the aim of enabling new high-quality CPD schemes to be delivered where they are most needed, including in the 12 opportunity areas identified by the government.

Finally, a revised system of gold-standard national professional qualifications is being developed in partnership with the teaching profession for introduction this September. £10 million from the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund will be made available to incentivise take-up of the new NPQs for high-potential professionals working in the most challenging schools.

The aim of these steps will be to improve the supply of highly qualified teaching staff across the UK, thereby enhancing pupils' chances of receiving excellent tuition.

Ms Greening said: "Teachers are the great drivers of social mobility in our country. We know that the single biggest in-school influence on a child's life chances is the quality of teaching they receive.

"It is important that all teachers are supported with the right framework that will allow them to become the best professionals they possibly can be."