The Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, has promised to be “brazenly elitist” in the recruitment of new teachers, should his party win the forthcoming election. Speaking at the launch of the education section of the Tories election manifesto on 18 January 2010, Mr Cameron outlined proposals to improve the calibre of graduates entering the teaching profession.
While graduates with a third class degree currently receive financial support from the Government to become teachers, under the Conservatives’ new plans, applicants would need at least a 2:2 honours degree to qualify for funding for postgraduate teacher training.
In addition, incentives would be introduced to encourage the best graduates into the teaching of maths and sciences. Those graduates entering teaching with a “first or 2:1 in maths or a rigorous science subject from a good university” would be able to apply to have their student loan paid off.
Mr Cameron also promised more flexibility over teachers’ pay, enabling schools to reward the best teachers through bonus schemes. “Once we get the best teachers, we need to make sure they stay teaching, and that means making sure their reward is a fair reflection of how well they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked.”
These proposals form part of the Conservatives’ avowed strategy “to improve our schools system, make opportunity more equal and address our declining social mobility.”
In the March/April issue of SEN Magazine the front bench education spokespeople from the Conservatives, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats will each lay out their plans for the teaching of children with SEN, ahead of the forthcoming election. To subscribe to SEN Magazine click here
