Reforms of teacher training will bring mass shortages report finds
This article explains how housands of trainee teachers in subjects suffering a shortage would be barred from the profession under government plans aimed at improving standards in the classroom.
Education Secretary Michael Gove is planning to remove government funding to train as a teacher for anyone with less than a 2:2 degree pass. A report out today shows that one in three modern language teachers would no longer receive funding for their training as a result of the reforms.
The report on teacher training standards by Professor Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson, from Buckingham University’s Centre for Education and Employment Research, warns ministers they face a dilemma “No one wants to see teachers attempting to teach subjects which they do not fully grasp themselves,” it says.
It surfaces an ongoing challenges around recruitment and capacity in schools. It misses any discussion of the other structural and funding problems facing delivering choice and quality in terms of smaller schools. I would argue that the issues to do with changes to the supply of teachers are just one aspect of the challenges facing schools, particularly small rural schools and that these other factors are just as, if not more important in the round. Federated schools are one interesting approach to cracking the problem and in a number of places parent power has made all the difference to the viability of small schools not just the teachers.
Rob Hindle of Rural Innovation and I have a new report developed for the Rural Communities Policy Unit due to hit the streets soon it has more to say about this issue and some live case studies – watch this space.