The money, part of a total of £18 million provided by Government under the Children’s Plan, will go towards supporting trainee teachers to identify pupils’ learning needs at an early stage and adapt their teaching to meet those needs.   

The TDA’s Chief Executive, Graham Holley, said:

“The training resources being launched today form a key part of the TDA’s strategy to support teachers in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

“We know this approach works. Trainee teachers who took part in the pilots have already told us that they felt that they had gained the knowledge, understanding and skills to better support children with SEN and disabilities.

“To ensure as many teachers as possible can benefit, the TDA is now supporting regional clusters of primary undergraduate teacher training providers to use resources to develop SEN and disability provision nationwide.”

Andrew Adonis, Minister for Children, Schools and Learners, said:

“The Government is committed to securing better outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities and ensuring they get the best possible deal. In the Children’s Plan we pledged to spend £18 million over the next three years on SEN and disability. Improving workforce skills is central to our plans and the lion’s share of this money – some £12m – is being devoted to work designed to improve coverage of SEN and disability in initial teacher training, induction and continuing professional development."

He continued:

“These new study units are an important part of our plans, providing fresh, specially designed resources to institutions providing primary undergraduate initial teacher training.”

Half a million pounds to help teachers support children with special needs

The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) today announced it is providing £500,000 to help train new teachers in better ways of supporting children with disabilities.

The money, part of a total of £18 million provided by Government under the Children’s Plan, will go towards supporting trainee teachers to identify pupils’ learning needs at an early stage and adapt their teaching to meet those needs.   

The TDA’s Chief Executive, Graham Holley, said:

“The training resources being launched today form a key part of the TDA’s strategy to support teachers in meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

“We know this approach works. Trainee teachers who took part in the pilots have already told us that they felt that they had gained the knowledge, understanding and skills to better support children with SEN and disabilities.

“To ensure as many teachers as possible can benefit, the TDA is now supporting regional clusters of primary undergraduate teacher training providers to use resources to develop SEN and disability provision nationwide”

Andrew Adonis, Minister for Children, Schools and Learners, said:

“The Government is committed to securing better outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities and ensuring they get the best possible deal. In the Children’s Plan we pledged to spend £18 million over the next three years on SEN and disability. Improving workforce skills is central to our plans and the lion’s share of this money – some £12m – is being devoted to work designed to improve coverage of SEN and disability in initial teacher training, induction and continuing professional development.

“These new study units are an important part of our plans, providing fresh, specially designed resources to institutions providing primary undergraduate initial teacher training.”

-ends-

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Notes for editors

This news release applies to England only.

The TDA SEN and Disability Training Resources are for providers of primary undergraduate ITT and comprise:

• 18 taught sessions for undergraduate primary ITT courses covering a wide range of areas including planning, teaching approaches, SEN and disability discrimination law, Dyslexia, Autism, Behavioural, emotional and social difficulties and speech, language and communication needs.
• a model scheme for establishing extended (4 week) placements in special provision – special schools and specially resourced provision in mainstream schools

The resources were trialled with 26 ITT providers with positive results.

Eight regional clusters of ITT providers are now being supported by TDA. They will form communities of practice, using the resources as a catalyst for developing and sharing ideas and practice and in improving provision. The aim is to equip all primary undergraduate trainees with the knowledge, understanding and skills to meet the needs of children with SEN and/or disabilities when they begin their teaching careers. They will provide a firm foundation on which to build further training and development throughout their careers.  

TDA is currently trialling resources for PGCE courses and secondary undergraduate ITT courses and developing materials to support the induction of newly qualified teachers. These should be available in 2009.  
 
For information about how to become a teacher, see www.teach.gov.uk  Personal advice is available from the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991 – 992 for Welsh speakers (minicom 0117 915 8161).

The Training and Development Agency for Schools was established under the Education Act 2005. Its principal aim is to secure an effective school workforce that improves children’s life chances.