In demand teachers should be on a higher pay grade

[Winterday1991]

Teachers who have high level degrees from good quality universities and teach in demand subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry etc should be paid at a rate equivalent to what their peers would earn in the private sector. For example starting salaries of £50k.

As I understand it, the current teacher pay scale means that drama, music teachers and low quality graduates are paid the same as high quality teachers. As teaching has low barrier to entry for graduates, and there is a shortage of teachers for certain subjects surely salaries should be treated as they would be in the private sector and paid the market rate. Why does the government not implement this to get more high quality graduates into teaching?

Has anyone seen the teacher training recruitment statistics for 2023/2024? It was just published a few weeks ago on the .gov.uk website. It's looking marvelous! hahahaha.......Especially for physics where only 17% of the total number of teachers required were recruited!

As a Russell Group university educated physics PhD grad, I think I can safely say that Britain is destined for the toilet!

You're absolutely right - my son's A level maths teacher would rather stick needles in his eyes than attempt individual gingerbread houses with a class of 8 year olds.

Not in my experience that was phased out ages ago.

Glad to see you value music as a low grade subject and its teachers as deserving of less pay.
For some that certainly makes you a low value, and academically lesser person, who should be paid nothing.

Teachers who have high level degrees from good quality universities and teach in demand subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry etc

The level of the degree is not an indicator of the teacher's ability to teach their subject, whatever it is.

Performance related pay is such a great idea.
It gave us the 2008 financial crash and the prosecution and subsequent conviction of innocent sub post masters.

When will we ever learn?

My school has struggled to fill music.

And when I finished my (primary) pgce, those who could play piano or guitar were the first to get jobs. Make of that what you will.