Dr. Lynn Ramsey:

The current policy context in which we work is set out in the initial teacher education policy statement, which talks about all the requirements for those programmes of initial teacher education. We have just accredited 53 such programmes in the second cycle of Céim. They include concurrent and consecutive programmes. Those programmes were developed in response to all the consultations which took place and the 12 requirements of the literacy and numeracy strategy. It is a reflection of the complexity of the demands of teaching. We have moved from what was a higher diploma, in the case of the consecutive piece, to a masters. When we look at the content, rather than think about the duration, we see it is all required because of the complexity of the needs of teaching, where there are often complex groups of learners in classes and it is grounded in priority requirements such as inclusive education.