Harton becomes one of the first Teaching Schools in the country!

On Friday 15th July, the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) announced the very first 100 Teaching Schools to be designated from September 1st 2011. I am delighted to say that Harton Technology College was one of only five secondary schools in the north east, and one of only fifty six secondary schools in the country, to receive the recognition, a new designation entitling us to lead the training and professional development for staff.

It is further acknowledgement that the marvellous, dedicated and talented staff at Harton provide the highest quality of education. We have many outstanding teachers and support staff, fabulous students and incredibly perceptive and supportive parents and Governors. I am really excited about the prospect of working even more closely with many other schools and strategic partners as part of our Teaching School Alliance.

Harton was selected by the National College, which had about 1,200 expressions of interest in the first recruitment round.

The milestone marks a shift towards school-centred training and development. Teaching Schools will be responsible for leading a group of schools, working with other partners including at least one university, to deliver high quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career.

The National College has responsibility for the designation and quality of the teaching schools programme, working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) as the national network grows to 500 teaching schools by 2014.

Steve Munby, Chief Executive of the National College, said: “To take on this role, teaching schools like Harton Technology College need to be among the best in the country - outstanding in their own performance and have a track record of raising standards through school-to-school support.

“Over time teaching schools will harness the finest teaching talent in the profession to drive school improvement, and bring real benefits to pupils. Trainees will learn from the best teachers in action and those who want to step up to more senior leadership positions will be exposed to excellent practice within and beyond their immediate school.”

The first year of the programme will be a design and development phase. As they develop, teaching schools working with other schools and universities will help to provide a strong supply of new teachers, develop leaders and the next generation of heads, and support schools in challenging circumstances.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “The best education systems around the world recruit the highest calibre of graduates, and train and develop them rigorously throughout their career. I am delighted we have the first hundred of the best schools in the country, led by the best heads, becoming teaching schools from this September.

"In the NHS, teaching hospitals have become centres of excellence in their local areas by training current and future generations of doctors and nurses while also providing excellent medical care. We want teachers to have the same opportunities for excellent initial teacher training and ongoing professional development. We also want teaching schools to become the engines that will help weaker schools to raise their academic standards and to improve behaviour.”

Brian Lightman, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said: “The training and development of our existing and future education workforce is at the heart of the work of school leaders. The teaching school model places the focus of training and development exactly where it should be - with groups of schools working in partnership with universities and other partners.

“Although there is a vast amount of excellent practice in schools, opportunities to learn from each other have often been limited. By acting as 'hubs' in close collaboration with other institutions, teaching schools are a powerful opportunity to increase capacity, spread excellent practice and give our best teachers and future leaders the chance to share their expertise and skills. This is an exciting start in a small proportion of England's schools and we look forward to similar collaborative opportunities being extended throughout the country so that there is a widespread, consistent impact on the teaching profession.”

Russell Hobby, General Secretary of the NAHT, said: "Teaching schools are an exciting idea and a chance to get to grips with the real force behind high standards - great teaching. The fact that teaching schools must collaborate is particularly important. The initiative will energise schools as well as teacher training."

Stephen Hillier, Chief Executive at the TDA said: “Teaching schools will showcase the best possible training and development, both for trainees and for serving teachers, to ensure pupils get the best from their teachers.  Working with each other and with universities, teaching schools will base their training on the latest advances in subject knowledge, pedagogy and research.  Teaching Schools will be innovative and be a catalyst for improvements in training and professional development right across the school sector.”

James Noble-Rogers, Executive Director of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET), said: “Effective partnership between schools and universities plays a key role in the delivery of high quality initial teacher education and CPD. Teaching schools will help to make those partnerships even stronger and are therefore to be welcomed.”

Ken Gibson (Executive Headteacher) – 15th July 2011