University teaching departments key to train future teaching workforce says UCU as government cuts places by 5%

Provisional Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places will be reduced by 5% while School Direct, where places are allocated to schools to employ teacher trainees, will get an increase of 2,000 places from last year.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'University teaching departments have a strong history of providing effective teacher training, producing all-rounders who can teach in different settings.
 
'The continued expansion of school-based teacher training is destabilising university teaching departments and making their future uncertain. There is a real danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater if we narrow the education on offer to our trainee teachers.
 
'The worst-case scenario is that we lose these hubs of expertise that produce teachers who are able to work in a range of schools. University teacher training departments are key to producing a high-quality and flexible workforce at a time when there is a growing demand for more teachers.'