Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review the content and duration of the professional master of education course. [22421/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Changes to the duration and content of all initial teacher education programmes were made in response to recommendations in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020 and were incorporated into the Teaching Council’s Policy Paper on the Continuum of Teacher Education and Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers. Both were published in 2011.

Improvements which have been made to initial teacher education courses include the reconfiguration of the content and duration of courses, with the duration of concurrent ITE programmes set at a minimum of four years while the postgraduate programmes of teacher education are set at two years, thereby facilitating an innovative reconceptualisation of programmes.

The lengthened and reconfigured programmes include substantial periods of school placement as central to student teacher development and a number of mandatory elements including literacy and numeracy, teaching, learning and assessment including school and classroom planning, differentiation, behavior management, inclusive education (special education, multiculturalism, disadvantage, etc) and ICT in teaching and learning. These reforms are focused on improving the quality of teaching in our schools, which is central to the educational outcomes of our children.

The Teaching Council is undertaking a review of the impact of the reconfigured ITE programmes and of the Criteria and Guidelines for accreditation, which will feed into an update of the procedures and criteria documentation. This will inform the next cycle of review and accreditation of all ITE programmes, which is due to start in 2020.

The Deputy will also be aware that I convened the first meeting of the Teacher Supply Steering Group, which is chaired by the Secretary General of my Department, on 26th March 2018. The Group met again last month.

The Steering Group is considering the issues that impact on teacher supply, including: initial teacher education policy, provision, funding and support; data/research requirements; policies and arrangements for schools and teachers that impact on teacher mobility/supply; and promotion of the teaching profession. A working group has convened to consider and progress the teacher supply issues relating to Higher Education and initial teacher education will be considered in that context.

The Steering Group will oversee a programme of actions according to strict timelines and clear deliverables. In undertaking its task, the Group is cognisant of the requirement that all persons wishing to teach in recognised schools must meet the professional registration standards and criteria set by the Teaching Council, which is the professional regulatory body for the teaching profession.