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Introduction What does the ITT Core Content Framework mean for teacher educators and trainee teachers?

In this chapter

This chapter outlines the ITT Core Content Framework. It introduces you to the framework and provides you with some background information about its development. This chapter is mainly intended for ITT providers and their partnerships rather than for trainees, although it is likely that trainees will find the implications of the framework interesting in relation to their own professional practice.

Key research

The ITT Core Content Framework (DfE/EEF, 2019) was developed from the Carter Review of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) (Carter, 2015) which made some key recommendations for ITT courses. Key recommendations from this review are identified below.

 To develop a framework of core ITT content.

 Subject knowledge and subject-specific pedagogy should be included in this framework.

 The framework should include a strong emphasis on evidence-based teaching.

 Theories of assessment should be included in this framework.

 Child and adolescent development should be included.

 The framework should include practical strategies to support trainees in managing pupils’ behaviour.

 Special educational needs and disabilities should be included in the framework.

 Trainees require input on developing their professionalism, resilience and time management.

(Carter, 2015)

Key policy

The ITT Core Content Framework states:

The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for pupils – and it is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. No one is born a great teacher. Great teachers continuously improve over time, benefitting from the mentoring of expert colleagues and a structured introduction to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching.

(DfE/EEF, 2019, p3)

The ITT Core Content Framework (DfE/EEF, 2019) sets out the minimum entitlement for trainee teachers. It draws on the best available evidence from research to identify the elements of quality-first teaching. The framework does not identify all the content that trainee teachers need and neither is it a curriculum. Providers will need to make decisions about how to structure the content to provide trainees with a well-sequenced, coherent ITT curriculum. It is a framework that sets out the minimum essential knowledge and skills that trainee teachers need to become effective teachers. Together with the Early Career Framework (DfE, 2019a), it will provide a comprehensive package of support for teachers at the early stages of their careers.

The ITT Core Content Framework should not be used as an assessment framework to assess the performance of trainee teachers. Although it aligns with the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2011), it emphasises specific essential knowledge for trainees. Building on the recommendations of the Carter Review of Initial Teacher Training (Carter, 2015), there is a strong emphasis on developing trainees’ knowledge of behaviour management and special educational needs. In addition, there is a strong emphasis on developing trainees’ subject knowledge. The framework emphasises the importance of subject-specific and age-specific training because strong subject knowledge is associated with good outcomes for pupils (Coe et al., 2014).

In addition, the framework emphasises the importance of providing quality-first teaching for all pupils. It explicitly states that:

The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for pupils — and it is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. No one is born a great teacher. Great teachers continuously improve over time, benefitting from the mentoring of expert colleagues and a structured introduction to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching.

(DfE/EEF, 2019, p.3)(3)

The ITT Core Content Framework is deliberately designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching, which is particularly important for disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs. For this reason, the ITT Core Content Framework deliberately does not detail approaches specific to particular additional needs – to reflect the importance of quality first teaching.

(DfE/EEF, 2019, p6)

There is a strong emphasis on providing all pupils with high-quality teaching. The framework states that this is the best way of raising outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The framework therefore does not emphasise the use of differentiated approaches because these can serve to widen ability gaps between groups of pupils. There is also an emphasis on developing trainees’ understanding of how to support pupils with specific mental health needs. For primary schools, the framework specifically emphasises the importance of developing trainees’ knowledge and understanding of systematic synthetic phonics to support pupils’ early reading development. In addition, there is an emphasis on developing trainees’ subject knowledge in mathematics.

In line with the Education Inspection Framework (Ofsted, 2019), the framework includes an emphasis on supporting trainees to manage their workloads and their own well-being.

What does the ITT Core Content Framework mean for trainees?

Although the ITT Core Content Framework should not be used as an assessment framework to evaluate your capability as a teacher, nonetheless it breaks down the Teachers’ Standards into more specific content that you need to know and understand. You can use it as a developmental framework to identify things that you already know and understand, and aspects that you need to develop. Once you have identified these aspects, you can focus discussions with your mentors on how to address these aspects within your practice. You can also observe other teachers to see how they implement these aspects in their practice. If you use the ITT Core Content Framework in this way, it becomes a tool to support your development as a teacher.

What does the ITT Core Content Framework mean for course managers and tutors?

Course managers and tutors should ensure that all the aspects of the ITT Core Content Framework are embedded within either central training or school-based training. They should work collaboratively with their partnership schools to map how aspects of the framework which are delivered centrally are supported or further developed through school-based training. Some aspects might be delivered solely centrally, others might be delivered solely by schools, and some aspects can be delivered both in school and centrally, provided there is no repetition.

What does the ITT Core Content Framework mean for mentors?

The ITT Core Content Framework includes the minimum knowledge that trainee teachers need to know and understand. Providers should work collaboratively with schools across their partnerships to jointly plan a coherent curriculum for trainee teachers. Some aspects of the framework can be delivered by school-based mentors and other aspects can be delivered by school-based trainers who are not in schools – for example, lecturers.

School-based mentors play a critical role in supporting trainees to apply their theoretical understanding of the content into practical contexts. It is not enough for trainees to know the theories that underpin the key aspects of the framework. Trainee teachers ultimately need to be able to develop the skills to apply their learning in practical situations. School-based mentors can support trainees to develop practical teaching skills using processes such as coaching and mentoring.

Take 5

 The ITT Core Content Framework identifies the content which is a minimum entitlement for trainees.

 Providers must not use it as an ITT curriculum.

 Providers must sequence the content logically to provide trainees with a coherent curriculum.

 There is a strong emphasis on behaviour management, subject knowledge and quality-first teaching for all pupils in the framework.

 The ITT Core Content Framework, in conjunction with the Early Career Framework, provides early career teachers with a coherent programme of professional development in the early stages of their careers.

Classroom example

An ITT provider developed a working party to develop its ITT curriculum. The group included ITT tutors, mentors and trainees. A series of meetings enabled the group to explore the ITT Core Content Framework, the national curriculum and the Teachers’ Standards. The group worked collaboratively to plan a well-sequenced ITT curriculum, which was then implemented the following year. Essentially, the curriculum identified what specific content would be taught in the university and what content would be taught by mentors in schools. The group also had responsibility for developing a series of directed self-study tasks that trainees were required to complete in their own time.

Examples of what good practice in curriculum sequencing looks like in the classroom

Providers will be required to make decisions about how to sequence curriculum content so that trainees progressively develop their knowledge across the duration of their ITT programme. The following examples will support providers to begin this process. We have divided the ITT programme into three phases. On a postgraduate programme, this will be term 1, term 2 and term 3. On an undergraduate ITT programme, each phase will represent one year of the course.

Systematic synthetic phonics

Reading

Writing

Mathematics

Science

Physical education

Art and design

Music

Design and technology

Assessment

Behaviour management

Special Educational Needs and Disability

History

Geography

Computing

Primary languages

These examples of curriculum sequencing are illustrative examples only. They do not necessarily address the full scope of the relevant Teachers’ Standards. They have been included here to prompt debate and discussion about curriculum sequencing.

Summary

This chapter has introduced the ITT Core Content Framework and the minimum entitlements it provides to all trainee teachers. The underpinning research has been outlined and the implications for mentors have been discussed. However, it is essential that ITT providers remember that the framework does not set out the full ITT curriculum for trainee teachers. Individual providers must still design curricula that are appropriate for the subject, phase and age range that trainees will be teaching. It is therefore crucially important that providers ensure that trainees have the foundational knowledge and skill that is required to access and understand the content within the framework. Furthermore, providers must craft the requirements of the framework into a coherently sequenced programme that supports trainees to be successful in the classroom. This means that providers must ensure that their curricula provide for the full entitlement defined by the framework as well as additional knowledge and understanding of required understanding of required theory, research and practice.