Restore the balance

We should not sound too apocalyptic a note on teacher training ("Teacher training crisis deepens", THES, October 16). The situation is not one of terminal collapse but of progressive instability. We can all do something to remedy this:

* The country needs a vibrant, innovative system of teacher preparation, not one defensive and afraid to experiment lest it break the rules -planning permission, not restriction orders. The Teacher Training Agency needs to attend to the message the universities have for so long been sending: an over-regulated system will lose the will to think for itself

* Ofsted should attend with equal attention - Higher education providers' efforts are mainly directed at surviving the remorseless pressure of unending inspections and this is seriously incapacitating teacher preparation. This will not raise standards

* Against a background of annual efficiency gains, the threat of loss of funding from the TTA if Ofsted judgements are negative means still greater pressure on providers trying to preserve their infrastructure and staffing base. This destabilises a vital service

* Social and economic circumstances are discouraging talented people from teaching and we face a supply crisis. Providers cannot reverse that trend if threatened with constant instability. The grim prospect of "standards", regulations and Ofsted will not attract our most talented people into teaching

* Other professions pay people to train. Government, through extra funding, should introduce trainee bursaries.

The situation is not lost, but the balance is - between the need for accountability, and the trust any profession should be able to assume before it can work effectively. Our next and urgent task should be to restore it.

Mike Newby Chair Universities Council for the Education of Teachers