‘We will take them from anywhere’: schools working within multiple initial teacher training partnerships

This article reports on a small-scale study focusing on the role of the initial teacher training (ITT) coordinator in schools in England in terms of working simultaneously across and within a number of different ITT partnerships. Data collection involved a review of the relevant course documentation of the four main higher education institutions working in one region, a postal questionnaire to 113 primary schools and secondary schools within that region and semistructured telephone interviews with six school-based ITT coordinators. The data were analysed within broad categories identifying the facilitators and constraints of carrying out the role when working in partnership with a number of different ITT providers. The findings indicate that there is a developing trend towards schools in England working with multiple partners, particularly in the case of secondary schools and that, notwithstanding the administrative difficulties sometimes caused, there are clear perceived advantages to working in such a way, both for the schools themselves and for the trainees in those schools. The implications of this in terms of partnerships between schools and ITT providers are explored, as are the

This article reports on a small-scale study focusing on the role of the initial
teacher training (ITT) coordinator in schools in England in terms of working
simultaneously across and within a number of different ITT partnerships. Data
collection involved a review of the relevant course documentation of the four
main higher education institutions working in one region, a postal questionnaire
to 113 primary schools and secondary schools within that region and semistructured
telephone interviews with six school-based ITT coordinators. The data
were analysed within broad categories identifying the facilitators and constraints
of carrying out the role when working in partnership with a number of different
ITT providers. The findings indicate that there is a developing trend towards
schools in England working with multiple partners, particularly in the case of
secondary schools and that, notwithstanding the administrative difficulties
sometimes caused, there are clear perceived advantages to working in such a
way, both for the schools themselves and for the trainees in those schools. The
implications of this in terms of partnerships between schools and ITT providers
are explored, as are the