'Outstanding' praise from ex-Minister

TEACHING professionals are looking to a bright future after the Institute of Education received a glowing report from the former Secretary of State for Education.

Baroness Estelle Morris heaped praise on the work of the Institute as she officially marked its ‘promotion’ to full Faculty status within the University.

She said the Institute had evolved from a basic teacher training college to a complex institution which embraced a whole raft of services to the education sector – encompassing research, professional development and enterprise.

"The designation of the IoE as a fully-fledged Faculty is a very clear sign to the outside world of the value that MMU puts on this profession and on education in today's society.

Bold and embracing

"I thank the Institute for its priceless service to society. It is bold, brave, open and embracing the new agenda. That’s why it is outstanding."

The Baroness, who is President of the National Children’s Bureau and a former Manchester MP, spoke of the huge and growing pressures on the teaching profession which had undergone such rapid change.

"So much is asked of schools today and so many boundaries, social and cultural, are being pushed at, that only a truly multi-disciplinary Institute like this will meet the challenge."

Society, she said, wanted schools "to be the social fabric that communities used to be."

Impact of 1000s of lives

Still one of the largest teacher-training centres in the UK, with 6,000 students across four campuses, the IoE made "a great impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people," said the Baroness.

She had particular praise too for the innovative school managers programme, led by Ray Moorcroft, and for our Early Years work.

Andy Jones, Acting Dean, said Institute staff were delighted to become a Faculty and deserved huge praise for their dedicated hard work.

He spoke of the "stunning success" of projects like the North West Science Learning Centre and the progress in research which led to an excellent RAE submission from ESRI, and he had special thanks for the former Director of the IoE, Professor Michael Totterdell.

Diversify

Future plans include diversifying and expanding in multi-professional programmes, foundation degrees and CPD, he said.

"The challenge is for us to meet the needs of all those who work in the education arena," Andy said.

He thanked the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for addressing the formal launch and also the children of Moorlands Junior School choir who provided the entertainment.