The Geographical Association¡¯s , which analysed geography teacher training and teacher supply in England, sheds further light on the disruptions that the shift in government policy towards a school-led system has caused in areas including teaching quality and teacher supply.

Alan Kinder, the GA¡¯s chief executive, told Times ÖйúAƬ there was a ¡°growing concern right across education¡± about whether the system ¡°we now have in place is securing sufficient numbers of qualified teachers to do the job that¡¯s required¡±.

¡°I think there has to be a question mark over that,¡± he added. ¡°And what is coming out [from the ITE sector] is that the problem is becoming more, not less, acute.¡±

One of the main concerns for the GA is the position of ¡°subject-specific knowledge and pedagogy¡± in training. The report finds that ¡°the amount of subject-specialist input is very variable¡±.

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¡°Some school-led partnerships rely heavily on generic training because they have not secured the expertise of an ITE geography leader,¡± it says. ¡°The GA¡¯s research revealed a wide range of provision in subject-specialist input in geography ITE, from under 30 hours in one [school-led centre] to over 200 hours in a university-led scheme.¡±

Mr Kinder said he had anecdotal evidence of ¡°postgraduate secondary training courses where they were going down to 20 hours of secondary input¡±. He said this wide variation is ¡°unacceptable¡±.

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¡°We simply can¡¯t see how someone can be readied for secondary teaching if they¡¯re not being prepared properly in all the aspects you would expect,¡± he added.

The research undertaken by the GA involved correspondence with 68 schools and ITE providers, analysis of questionnaires on ITE and teacher recruitment from 17 schools and school-centred initial teacher training providers (SCITTs) alongside in-depth interviews with 10 ITE providers.

James Noble-Rogers, executive director of the Universities¡¯ Council for the Education of Teachers (Ucet) welcomed the GA report, which he said was ¡°relevant not just to geography but to all subjects and phases¡±.

¡°A stable and sustainable schools-led system that is based on genuine partnerships between universities and schools is an achievable objective,¡± he told Times ÖйúAƬ. ¡°But it will require some re-thinking on the part of the incoming government.¡±

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john.elmes@tesglobal.com