Teacher Support Network Chief Executive Julian Stanley speaks at the 14-19 Provision conference in Westminster.

Teachers and lecturers working with the 14-19 age group are currently facing reforms likely to induce ill-health, Teacher Support Network Chief Executive Julian Stanley told a conference this week.

Speaking at the 14-19 Provision conference in Westminster, he said that the current period of rapid transition in 14-19 practice would only work well if teachers and lecturers are fully supported during the process.

Recent changes to 14-19 education include reforms to A-levels and GCSEs, the launch of new apprenticeships and the extension of 14-19 Diplomas.

40 per cent of respondents to Teacher Support Network’s 2008 wellbeing survey identified ‘rapid pace of change’ as the main cause of their depression, stress or anxiety. The charity’s 2008 survey on the new 14-19 Diplomas also revealed that school, college and university staff wanted better, tailored training and information to enable them to teach Diplomas effectively, as well as more time to share best practice with colleagues, particularly within consortia. These concerns were echoed by council, school, college and university staff members at the conference yesterday.

In April, the then Schools Minister, Jim Knight MP, announced that an additional £50 million investment would be made available to meet the costs of establishing 14-19 Diplomas locally, such as preparation for teachers, timetable and transport plan adjustments and general infrastructure changes.

You may find the following factsheets, from our online InfoCentre, interesting:

• Overview of the new 14-19 Diploma
• Overview of Diploma Conference held in London September 2008
• More time, more training needed for Diplomas - survey results December 2008