Allenbourn and St John’s schools in Wimborne have been selected by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) to become national teaching schools – an important role in raising standards.
Teaching Schools take a leading role in recruiting and training new entrants to the profession, identifying leadership potential and providing support for other schools.
The schools are two of only 200 in England to be granted teaching school status in the latest designation round.
Introduced in 2011, teaching schools are all rated as ‘outstanding’ and mark a shift towards school-centred training. They work with partner schools in an alliance, including at least one university, to ensure high quality school-led initial teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers at all stages of their career.
They raise standards through school-to-school support, engage in research and development, and ensure that the most talented school leaders are spotted and supported to become successful headteachers.
Derek Brooks, Headteacher of Allenbourn, said: “This is something we have wanted to undertake for some time, and we are delighted to be working closely with St John’s First School. This is an exciting time for both schools.”
The Headteacher of St John’s, Liz West, added, “This is a fantastic opportunity to raise the professional development across networks of schools. We believe that high quality school led initiatives will inspire current and future teachers.”
NCTL has responsibility, in partnership with headteachers from the Teaching Schools Council, for the designation and quality of the teaching schools programme.
Charlie Taylor, the Chief Executive of NCTL, said: “St John’s and Allenbourn should be very proud of their teaching school status. It recognises the schools’ outstanding performance and their track record of raising standards through supporting other schools.
“There are now more than 500 designated teaching schools around the country with more to follow. In an increasingly school-led system, they are leading the way in training new teachers and helping existing teachers develop their skills – ensuring we’ll have the best people teaching our children for generations to come.”
Staff from the successful schools have already attended a formal induction led by the Teaching Schools Council this month, which was held in Sheffield at the end of April.
