The expanded remit was announced by Education Secretary Charles Clarke, who said he also wants the agency to strengthen its contribution to teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD).

It comes as the TTA celebrates its tenth anniversary and in the wake of attracting more than 40,000 people to start teacher training in England – 50 per cent more than five years ago.

Mr Tabberer said the country’s 430,000 teachers are supported by more than 225,000 staff in a range of jobs. Improved training will help them play a bigger part in raising the performance of schools and pupils.

Speaking at the launch of the TTA’s corporate plan for 2004-05, Mr Tabberer said:

“These additional responsibilities place the TTA at the forefront of the Government’s reforms for the school workforce and for children and young people. They take the TTA into its second decade with new challenges.

“We have already begun by setting standards for higher level teaching assistants (HLTA), and commissioning training and assessment for candidates.

“There are many details to be discussed and worked out as we establish relationships with a wider group of organisations. With them we can create stronger and more coherent programmes which will help teachers and support staff to improve their skills to better support every pupil.”

Mr Tabberer said priorities for the year in which the TTA would assume in its new responsibilities for support staff would include:

• clarifying the scope of the workforce encompassed by the new remit,
• agreeing with other organisations a training and development framework for school staff, within the wider context of the children’s agenda,
• establishing processes and machinery for decision-making and implementation, and 
• gathering data about staffing numbers, qualifications, training issues, standards and quality.

Pointing out that inquiries from people interested in becoming a teacher are running 25 per cent higher on last year, Mr Tabberer added:

“In accepting this extra work, the TTA will remain focussed on helping teacher training providers to fill every place and ensuring a supply of good quality training so that we continue to provide schools with great new teachers.”

TTA Chair Sir Brian Follett said:

“The TTA has achieved notable success over the past five years by increasing the number of trainee teachers by 50 per cent while improving the quality of training.

“That success is a tribute to all our staff, and has been achieved in partnership with universities, colleges and schools involved in teacher training. These additional responsibilities reflect the Government’s confidence in our ability to help ensure every child has a sound and secure start in life.”

The TTA is already developing a Professional Development Programme (PDP), and Mr Clarke said he intended to consult on how the TTA could be involved in bringing together leading partners to set a new framework for CPD.

Notes for editors

The TTA was established under the Education Act 1994. The remit letter from the then Secretary of State is dated 5 October 1994.

The TTA’s purpose is to raise standards by attracting able and committed people to teaching and by improving the quality of teacher training and induction. It is also responsible for standards and training for HLTA. Its responsibilities relate to England, although it carries out certain promotional work for the Welsh Assembly Government under a Memorandum of Understanding.

The figures for the numbers of teachers and support staff are for full time equivalent staff published by the DfES.

In setting out on 4 March 2004 its plans to reform children’s services, the Government said:

“The teacher training agency (TTA) will build on its success in recruiting and training high quality teachers by becoming the main delivery agency for training and developing school support staff. This will build on the TTA’s work in relation to Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA) and strengthen the focus on delivery of occupational skills for other support staff roles.  It opens up the prospect of the TTA taking on a more strategic role, closer to that of an SSC for the whole school workforce.  An enhanced teacher training agency (TTA) will be a key partner in the new strategic network representing all staff working with children and young people.  Local authority employers and other signatories to the national agreement on school workforce reform will be consulted on the development of these new arrangements.“

The TTA’s corporate plan 2004-2007 is published at get into teaching.

People interested in becoming a teacher should visit the TTA recruitment website, www.useyourheadteach.gov.uk or contact the Teaching Information Line: 0845 600 0991 or teaching@ttainfo.co.uk.

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