Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory early years training for reception teachers.

Providing the best possible initial teacher training (ITT) is at the heart of the Government’s drive to improve teaching standards. All programmes of ITT must prepare teachers to meet the Teachers’ Standards and demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge.

There is already a requirement for all trainee teachers on an ITT course leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) that covers the 5-11 age range to have an understanding of progression in the early years age range (0-5). If training on, for example, a 3-7 primary ITT course, the trainee must demonstrate meeting the Teachers’ Standards across the full age and ability range specified by the course (including Early Years Foundation Stage ages 3-5) before being awarded QTS. The Department publishes guidance on this requirement, which can be found in section C2.2 of the ITT criteria (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-criteria), which states:

“Providers must ensure trainees have the opportunity to develop a comprehensive understanding of progression across, and before and after, the age range they are training to teach. This might include enhanced experiences in other age ranges.”