Scouts to Teachers scheme to solve recruitment crisis

[noblegiraffe]

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"Scouts will develop “teaching skills” as part of attaining their badges under a new government scheme to boost flagging recruitment by “inspiring the next generation of teachers”.
The Scout Association has won a contract worth up to £129,000 over three years to provide 40,000 ‘explorers’ – those aged 14 to 18-years-old – with the “skills and knowledge they need to consider pursuing a career in teaching”.

"a DfE spokesperson said the Scouts scheme will “raise awareness of teaching as a potential career choice for young people, helping to build a pipeline of future candidates for Initial Teacher Training.”"

Because if there's one job that teens are unaware of, it's teaching.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/scouting-for-teachers-dfes-latest-recruitment-plan-revealed/

£10 million quid to train 200 people, most of whom didn't actually complete the course. Marvellous.

This time there isn't a badge so you won't be able to measure how many people complete the course or not. Smart.

From the article, it seems that 100+ had already completed at the time of writing (after those who quit had been accounted for) with another 90+ still in training.

However, no figures on whether these ex-troops then actually took up teaching jobs.

(Apologies, on my phone so can’t quote figures exactly)

What baffles me more is that teaching is THE most visible job for students as a future career choice. They see it every day, even if they don't see all the details.

Kids are aware. They see what is going on in classrooms and on that basis alone say they'd never do that job.

We don't need more awareness of teaching as a career choice. We need far more awareness of all the other jobs out there and the routes to get in - I'm sick of hearing "I don't need Science" from my Y11s when they have no idea just how many doors are closing on the basis of them failing what is still, often, considered a core subject.

Absolutely, @ThrallsWife

My own kids were scouts/young leaders-they wouldn’t touch teaching with a barge pole!

So about £3 a person will solve a recruitment crisis. An absolute joke.

Telling teens that teaching is a job will solve the recruitment crisis.

"What did you do at the weekend, miss?"
Marked all your essays, Bob.
"I wouldn't want your job, miss."

This will certainly change his mind.

But teaching is going to be offered as an apprenticeship now, right? So no degree required. Straight from the Scouts into the classroom.

What could possibly go wrong?!

Bit strange given that teaching new skills to their peers or younger scouts is already built in right from Beaver age.

I have 2 Young Leaders of my own and supervise another 4 within scouting. It's all about learning how to support young people, plan and lead a program including linking to learning outcomes and they do training on managing behaviour etc.

So not sure what else they are going to add.

So you're saying that Scouts are just scamming money from the DfE to do something they're already doing?

Excellent work.

You don't get your Middleclasses with conscription, as they have proactive and articulate parents who will be able to find ways to ensure their offspring won't be added into the indentured workers / lumpen proletariat cannon fodder.

What you have to do to get those is convince them that their Country Needs Them as Leaders, doing their duty for King and Country.

Well, it worked for Kitchener, didn't it?

This is absolutely hilarious.

I mean - April Fools' Day is only supposed to be the 1st of April isn't it? This must have just not been published in time.

So you're saying that Scouts are just scamming money from the DfE to do something they're already doing?

Excellent work.

Fair play to whichever Volunteer has pulled this off, I say.

It’s worth pointing out that Scouts isn’t for boys, which everyone keeps assuming. My dd is a scout.

Teaching skills are great to learn. I teach and I’m not a teacher. But no this isn’t going to fix the problems which are really about burnout and quality of life for teachers.

Imagine though if they did introduce a badge. Right then Bob, you take Y9 for last period on Friday PM. Yes Bobette, you mark the essays and I'm off for a g and t! Maybe this is the stroke of genius that we have been waiting for as a profession!

Give them their scammers badge

If any of my kids chose to go into teaching I would be both appalled and disappointed. Don't. Do. It.

Hats off to the Scout movement for getting cash out of the government.

My DS is hanging on to scouts like a lifeline now that he can't go to school. I'm glad scouts are getting the money and they deserve it.

My son will be laughing loud and long if someone suggests a job as a teacher though. Not likely.

This was my exact thought . Lots of careers kids never consider - teaching is a reminder every day . Maybe if teachers weren’t so burned out and happier in their way theat may be more inspiration

129K over 3 years solve the recruitment crisis? Seriously? They're throwing the price of one qualified teacher per year at the problem?

Surely it's a joke?

Well, no.

Because my y8 class DEFINITELY know more about everything than I do. So if even 10% of them are Scouts, that's 3 teachers right there.

I actually think they need to be targeting 40 year olds to become teachers and get rid of fees to do a pgce (they could charge £10k but forgive £2k per year once you teach in the state sector as alternative) and introduce a grant (not loan) for a decent amount whilst you take your pgce. Plenty of people who have been in the private sector could be interested in teaching but can't afford to retrain

There’s plenty of people I know who have paid the training costs and still hate it so much that they don’t want to even finish the ECT period.

It’s the issues with doing the job itself that’s the problem.

My ds is a scout. Well, the one after scouts.

He's grown up in a house with 1 teacher parent and 1 non teacher parent. I know whose life he prefers.

He's also a bright but lazy with poor social and organisational skills, but lovely animal skills, so it's not really the job for him. Unless he can fix kids into position and lecture at them about his current favourite topic. He could probably teach if he could go back to 1987.