The concerns of Professors Mortimore and Welch justify, I suppose, the sensationalism of your front page story (TES, September 27).
But only just. There is widespread public and professional concern about standards in literacy and numeracy. New entrants to the profession obviously need the best possible training so that they can teach these basic skills confidently and competently.
Having completed its initial sweep of primary provision, the Office for Standards in Education is now to return to a range of institutions in order to find out more about both good and poor practice. We need further inspection evidence if we are to offer the Teacher Training Agency and the Secretary of State informed advice about future developments in teacher training. No institution which is equipping its students with the classroom skills they need has anything to fear from OFSTED’s work.
CHRIS WOODHEAD OFSTED Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC23
