Education minister Jason Clare’s draft national plan consolidates previous announcements and integrates ideas into a programme the states will sign-off and keeps interest groups in the policy tent, even deans of education

Including the initial teacher education establishment – which makes a change from the hostility of the previous government. As part of the plan the Australian Council of Deans of Education will develop a framework for career changers to have previous study, work experience and skills credited towards ITE qualifications.

Other initiatives include

* $40 000 bursaries for “high achieving school leavers” and career changes to study ITE degrees

* recommendations from the Scott Review on ITE will go to the education minco next June

* ITE students eligible for literacy and numeracy skills assessment in first year with an increase in number of goes they get

* data to “inform future university places” at subject specialisation and regional ITE levels  “to enable a national understanding of teacher supply”

* a national quality framework on teacher accreditation and ITE standards

early reaction

Universities Australia welcomed the draft. ““It is time to stop bagging teachers and continue with the job of giving them a strong platform from which to grow and thrive,” Chief Executive Catriona Jackson said.

As did Australian Catholic U’s Mary Ryan, not least because “many of these measures mirror approaches taken at ACU.

And Shadow Education Minister Alan Tudge said the plan was “in the right direction,”  implementing recommendations for initial teacher education supported by the coalition when in office.

Mr Tudge could have stopped there but added, that while some teacher education university courses, “are excellent, others have failed our students over the last two decades … ideology and fads have dominated instructional practice rather than practises based on research of what actually works.”

In playing to his base Mr Tudge expanded Jason Clare’s support in the ITE community.