When debating the merits of the PGCE, account should be taken of what teachers themselves think. According to data from the Training and Development Agency for Schools, more than 80 per cent of NQTs rate PGCE and undergraduate training programmes as “good” or “very good”. Ofsted reports reach similar conclusions. There are issues concerning the length of the PGCE and the need for teachers to have structured early professional development that builds on their initial training, but its quality and relevance is not open to question.

James Noble-Rogers, Executive director, Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, London.