INSET NOUN (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY)

Short for in-service training: term-time training for teachers in the state schools of the UK, statutorily provided for in teachers' conditions of service. Often used attributively (with a following noun), especially in INSET course and INSET day. Etymology: An acronym formed by combining letters from In-SErvice Training. History and Usage: The acronym was first used in discussion documents on teacher training written in the mid seventies. Provision for compulsory in-service training for teachers was officially made in the Teachers' Conditions of Service 1987, which stipulated that teachers were to be available for work on 195 days during the year, but that no more than 190 should be spent in teaching classes. The remaining days were to be INSET days (or non-contact days), during which training could be given. With the introduction of the Education Reform Act of 1988 and the national curriculum, INSET days were partly used as a way of introducing teachers to the new methods and procedures involved--these days became known colloquially as Baker days--but they also introduced the acronym INSET to a wider audience. At the moment, in-service training is a voluntary activity...but soon five days of INSET will be a statutory obligation. Times Educational Supplement 19 June 1987, p. 18