Plans for a lead body to develop a teacher-training standard for further education lecturers have been put on hold in favour of a half-way house Staff Development Forum, writes Lucy Ward.
The new organisation, established by the Government, is designed to pull together fragmented efforts to improve the professional development of FE staff. Recent research commissioned by the Department for Education and Employment to map the functions and types of employment in the sector was expected to precede the formation of a lead body, paving the way for the development of higher-level national vocational qualifications for FE lecturers.
However the Further Education Development Agency found no firm evidence in their research of the need for such a body, nor of the appropriateness of NVQs. But, FEDA chief executive Stephen Crowne admits: “There was a strong feeling that this was an important area with issues needing further exploration. ”
The forum will look at the need for higher standards of skills in jobs throughout the sector, not just with academic staff. “Whether those standards are expressed in NVQ-type terms is one of the issues to consider,” said Mr Crowne.
Membership of the forum will be decided early in the new year.
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