Ed Balls was announcing the Government's response to Toby Salt's review, commissioned by the Government in September 2009. Toby Salt was asked to identify the barriers that currently exist for the effective supply of adequately trained teachers for pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties, and ways to address these barriers.
The measures outlined in the response include:
- a partnership with Teach First to bring top graduates into schools, particularly special schools, allowing them to gain the skills they need to teach severely disabled children
- a new six-month specialist course for new teachers to enable them to be better prepared for their first job working with children with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties
- new arrangements to collect data on skilled teachers to manage supply effectively for the future
- new training on teaching children with severe learning difficulties will be developed by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to ensure that every teacher has access to the quality professional development materials that they need to develop their skills.
Ed Balls also announced the publication of a new edition of Breaking the Link, focusing on the link between special educational needs and low attainment. This document will be made available to all schools to reinforce the need to combat the problem of low-achieving children with SEN and to share strategies and best practice for supporting them to improve.
Press release
Salt Review
Breaking the link between special educational needs and low attainment |
