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An Institute for Fiscal Studies report explores the perceived short-term costs and benefits of different government-funded routes to QTS (qualified teacher status). The study included a survey of hundreds of educators in primary and secondary schools (the exact number of schools was unclear).
Most trainees pass through the higher education-led routes of Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Bachelor of Education (BEd). How do these well-established routes compare against the school-based methods of school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT), School Direct (salaried and unsalaried), and Teach First?
The survey revealed that most respondents considered that the benefits of participating in initial teacher training outweighed the costs for all routes except for PGCE training at primary level (where the costs slightly outweighed the benefits). Teach First was the most expensive method for schools but also was cited as having larger benefits than other training routes. Respondents were more likely to state that benefits were higher than costs for school-based training than for higher education-based routes.
Source:The Costs and Benefits of Different Initial Teacher Training Routes (2014), IFS Reports (R100)