Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)

My Lords, I thank the noble Lords and noble Baroness for their contributions to this important discussion. I personally had the benefit of attending an FE college and, from a very early age, I recognised the extremely important contribution that FE makes to our rich landscape of educational provision. I will try to pick up the main points made across the discussion. This Government are absolutely focused on improving the quality of teaching across the whole education system. This is an important turning point for FE teacher training. We have to be honest—— I hope noble Lords will recognise this from previous years in government—that it has been the Cinderella of the teacher training system for too long. We have to emphasise the Government’s commitment to promoting high and rising standards in teaching, recognising that there are examples of exceptionally good practice. We need to make sure that that excellence is protected and that trainee teachers and their employers have full confidence in the training they receive.