Three months after the announcement of an apprenticeship for teachers, London Met becomes first higher education institution to provide end point assessment for the new entry route.
Date: 14 February 2018
London Met has become the first UK Higher Education Institution to be accepted as an End Point Assessor (EPA) for the Teacher Level 6 Standard by the Department for Education.
EPAs play a key role in ensuring consistent standards of teacher training. London Met is the only organisation in the UK able to work with teacher training providers.
Chris Lane, Head of Partnerships for the School of Social Professions, said: “Acceptance onto the register of EPAs for the Teacher Apprenticeship is a significant new development for London Met and we look forward to playing a part in an important initiative to address shortages of teachers.”
The EPA is the final phase of an apprenticeship and involves making decisions about whether a trainee has acquired the necessary standard of knowledge, skills and behaviour to be awarded their qualification. It must be carried out by an organisation that is independent of the institution that has provided training to the apprentice for the duration of their course.
Neil Hillman, Head of Teacher Education at London Met, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this important route into teaching and are looking forward to working closely with a range of new training providers across the country.”
Professor Dominic Palmer-Brown, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Employment Outcomes at London Met, said: “This is the first of many apprenticeships for which we will seek to become an assessor. The EPA represents up to 20% of levy expenditure on apprenticeships nationwide, so this is the start of a new strand of activity that is set to become a key component of our business development.”
As of January 2018, there are 119 EPA providers across England, 11 of which are providers for the Teacher Level 6 Standard.
London Met assesses students in all phases of teaching and across a range of subject disciplines. Current partnerships provide Initial Teacher Education in the early years, primary and secondary phases and there are approximately 120 early years settings and schools involved in its current provision.
