The University of Warwick shares the government’s commitment to driving up and levelling up education standards, so that children and young people in every part of the country acquire the knowledge, skills, and qualifications they need to progress.

The university trains around 500 teachers each year, and our programmes have consistently been rated as Outstanding by Ofsted. We are proud of the teachers who have trained through our Initial Teacher Education ITE) partnership with schools who make a significant contribution to the education of children and young people in schools local to the University of Warwick and beyond. Warwick’s initial teacher training programme is flexible, and there is value in this flexibility. It enables the university to respond to the needs of our local partners and to provide our trainees with the support that they need to become great teachers.

Taken at face value, the Market Review recommendations propose a move to a single national approach to curriculum, delivery, and assessment of initial teacher training. The proposals additionally introduce specific requirements around mentoring and training placements. Regardless of the government’s intention, these proposals appear prescriptive and restrictive. In their current form, the proposals have the potential to undermine local partnerships and requirements, as well as the flexibility we are currently able to offer trainee teachers. There is a lack of evidence to support the introduction of intensive placements and it is not clear how the department intends to provide schools with the additional resource required to deliver them.

As the review recognises, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly disrupted the education sector. This disruption is still having an effect. The timescales proposed by the market review are tight and it is unlikely that the proposals can be implemented without more time to revisit both the substance of the proposals and to manage the changes required in schools and universities.

As ever, we will continue to place high-quality teaching and student support at the heart of what we do. Our success in initial teacher training is built on the strength of our partnership with our students and schools, and we remain committed to both. We will continue to constructively engage with the department for education to secure the best outcome for the schools and students that we serve.