Child protection training in school-based initial teacher training: a survey of school-centred initial teacher training courses and their trainees

This paper explores the coverage and effectiveness of child protection training within school-centred teacher training courses in England in the immediate aftermath of the new requirements for all teacher training courses. Three methods are described: a postal questionnaire, structured interviews with all responding course managers, and more open discussions with students on two of these courses. Comparisons with child protection training by higher education providers revealed similar problems in finding time for even the minimum coverage required by recent government circulars. Coverage was patchy with serious quality assurance issues and little use was made of schools' own Designated Teachers for child protection. From this material, examples of good and bad practice are summarised. Finally two groups of trainees who were interviewed revealed hazy understanding of their professional roles, and their personal experiences of child abuse were both very varied and inadequately addressed by their courses. The paper concludes by reiterating the need for a full evaluation of the effectiveness of child protection training within teacher training.