Staff from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and its partner schools have presented their innovative model of teacher education at a major UK conference.
Leanne Prevel, of Gelliswick VC Primary School, and Rhonwen Morris, of Ysgol y Preseli, joined UWTSD’s director of teacher education Elaine Sharpling at the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Annual Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon.
They were joined by the former and current chair of the EWC ITE Accreditation Board, Professor John Furlong and Dr Hazel Hagger.
Together, the five presented a session on the teacher education reforms that have taken place in Wales over the past few years.
Programmes put forward by the Athrofa: Professional Learning Partnership (APLP), a collaboration involving UWTSD’s Yr Athrofa: Institute of Education and a network of more than 100 schools, received accreditation from the Education Workforce Council (EWC) in June 2018.
New programmes went live in September 2019 and were drawn with the demands of the new national curriculum and Professional Teaching Standards in mind.
Ms Prevel said: “Colleagues from the APLP had the privilege to present on Wales’ reform journey with Prof Furlong and Dr Hagger at UCET’s conference this week.
“The presentation was positively received and opened up discussions on the exciting, bold changes taking place in Wales on its radical journey of reform.”
The development of the APLP heralds a new and innovative approach to teacher education, with Yr Athrofa and partner schools jointly responsible for the construction and delivery of all ITE programmes.
The APLP model of ITE has at its core an understanding that schools and universities are equal partners, and each have an integral role to play in the development of teacher education, the governance of the partnership and the processes needed for rigorous quality assurance.
Mrs Sharpling said: “That colleagues from the APLP were approached to present the Welsh vision for teacher education is a significant commendation for the work we are doing.
“The APLP does everything in partnership and it was wonderful to present with colleagues from partner schools at such an important conference for teacher educators.
“We are very proud of what we have created together with schools and are confident that our new approach to teacher education will equip the next generation of classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to inspire a love of learning and creativity.”
The UCET Annual Conference is considered one of the main events in the teacher education calendar, and included a range of workshops pertinent to teacher education and education research in the UK and internationally.