Teacher training courses to be focus of latest Ofsted inspection changes

The watchdog has revealed plans for a major revamp of teacher training inspections amid concerns that some courses are not supporting new recruits.

Under the plans, published for consultation, there will be a greater focus on teacher trainees’ professional dress and conduct.

Inspectors will also look specifically at how well teacher training courses are preparing new teachers to deal with misbehaviour in lessons, Ofsted said.

And they will observe how well trainees teach near the end of their training and at the start of their employment as teachers.

Details of the proposals come just weeks after Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said that it is a ‘’national scandal’’ that around two-fifths of teachers leave the profession within five years despite massive investment in training.

Many new recruits are quitting the classroom due to misbehaviour because they are inadequately prepared for dealing with unruly pupils, he suggested.

Sir Michael is also due to appear before the Education Select Committee today.

The inspection watchdog has been in the headlines twice in recent weeks.

Sir Michael was quoted as saying he was spitting blood over attacks on the inspection body from two right wing think-tanks including one calling for it to be scrapped. It led to Education Secretary Michael Gove denying that anyone working for him was briefing against Ofsted.

There has also been major controversy over Mr Gove’s decision to remove Labour peer Baroness Mogan from the role of chair of Ofsted.

She warned that the Government was appointing Conservative Party supporters to key public bodies.