Policy Announcements, Wednesday 25 April

Government  

• A plan to help improve the training and development available to school teachers and contribute to raising school standards in England is published today by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The new national strategy for serving teachers' Continuing Professional Development (CPD) will ensure that effective, high quality training is available in the areas that need it most. Schools will be able to make better, more informed decisions about the training in which they invest.  
• A consortium of leading charities and a top London university have won a £30m grant to provide a new academy for parenting practitioners, following an announcement by Children's Minister Beverley Hughes today. The new National Academy for Parenting Practitioners (NAPP) will be provided by the Family and Parenting Institute, Parenting UK and Kings College London and will launch in October 2007. It will be a centre of excellence, providing training for those who support parents in the community and research on what methods work to support parents.