All young people must have qualified teachers, says IfL
Commenting in advance of a speech by the deputy prime minister in which he is expected to confirm his commitment to having qualified teachers in state schools, the Institute for Learning (IfL) has said that all 14 to 19-year-olds deserve to be taught by qualified teachers, regardless of whether they are studying in a school or in further education.
IfL’s chief executive, Toni Fazaeli, said, “I do not see young people demanding to be educated by people who are not trained and not qualified to teach. Why would young learners, including those with learning difficulties or disabilities, deserve any less than trained and qualified teachers, simply because they are studying in further education rather than in schools?
"We are pleased that the Labour party and Nick Clegg are voicing their serious concerns about teachers and we commend their firm commitment to teachers in schools needing to be trained and qualified. IfL urges them to extend this logical and moral position to further education. We call on the government to take the opportunity to think again about the current policy that teachers in colleges and training providers do not have to be qualified, in the interests of young people having the best possible education and training.
“After doctors, teachers are the second most trusted profession: 81 per cent of adults surveyed by Ipsos MORI in 2011 said they trusted teachers to tell the truth. A vast majority (87 per cent) of the 6,000 or so IfL members who responded to our consultation on teaching qualifications last year strongly supported the position that there should be a national requirement for teachers and trainers to be qualified. Although this collective view was borne out by responses to the government’s own consultation, with 74 per cent of respondents saying they did not agree with the proposal to remove the regulations surrounding teachers’ qualifications, the regulations were removed anyway, in September this year.
“The tide is turning. Anyone clamouring to have unqualified teachers is out of step with what members of the public think.
“We believe that the parents or guardians of every young person have the right to know that the person teaching their child is properly trained and qualified, wherever they live in the country – irrespective of whether the young person is at a school or in a further education college.”
