Cambridge Calls for Postponement of New Teacher Training Framework
A teaching internship in England, due to start this autumn, aims to revolutionise the way schools recruit teachers and help individuals gain a bachelor’s degree while working. This is because of its divisive nature within the school community and the teacher training sector. The University has voted ‘no confidence’ in the Government’s new framework and wants to see it delayed for at least a year. The new framework will merge and replace the current separate initial teacher education Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) from September 2025. However, a lack of confidence in the document has been expressed by the University’s Faculty of Education.
They have advocated for the implementation of the new framework no sooner than September 2026 to facilitate additional consultation and revision. As reported by Schools Week, Professor of Education Clare Brooks expressed that the updated framework is essentially a minor modification to the current one and will not enhance its efficacy. The faculty argues that the framework sets ambiguous and conflicting targets for ITT (Initial Teacher Training) providers, and it is unclear how OFSTED will be able to inspect ITT programmes with fair and reasonable expectations under the new framework.
Another individual stated that the existing frameworks have significant flaws that have not been addressed. They also mentioned that the evidence base for ITTECF was incomplete and weak. This perspective aligns with James Noble-Rogers, Executive Director of the Universities Council for Teacher Education (UCET), who contends that the framework should be formulated by pertinent professionals throughout the education sector rather than being imposed by the government.