During Session 5, Global Best Practices in Post Provisioning Norms: Lessons for Equitable and Efficient Educator Allocation were shared by Dr Heramb Kulkarni and Prof Eero Ropo, Council for Creative Education (CCE) Finland. Case studies from Finland, Australia and other African counties were shared to illustrate the various models. The suggestion was for using a centralised model for South Africa; however, the model and way forward was still under discussion. In this project, our aim is, amongst others to: evaluate and review the current educator provisioning and distribution policy to ensure that it is in line with the principles of equity, redress and inclusivity; develop a post-distribution model in close cooperation with the DBE that will take into account all the elements of the published policy; and audit and review existing guiding documents on School-Based Work Integrated Learning. The emphasis will be on the foundation phase.

The third panel discussion for the day was on Positioning Teacher Development for Quality Foundational Learning, moderated by Ms Ella Mokgalane, Chief Executive Officer, South African Council for Educators (SACE). A robust discussion followed, focusing on Teacher Preparation; Teacher Provisioning in the foundation phase; Teacher support and professional development; and Education Professional Development for a Changing World: Blended Continuous Professional Development at Scale. The panel agreed that it is essential to attract and retain the best possible teachers, but also for them to have access to quality development and understand the curriculum and context in which they are teaching. Teachers should be adequately prepared to teach in the Foundational Phase, since to teach foundational reading and numeracy is a specialized technical skill, along with the identification of learning difficulties. It was suggested to implement a blended teacher development approach, highlighting responsiveness and lined to teacher agency and autonomy, linked to quality online resources and materials and engagement with fellow professionals and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).