if so many people are about to be made redundant in the country, why can't experienced individuals be fast tracked as teachers?

[elmouno]

Yes, I know teachers require different types of certification. But in these pressing times, if we have people being made redundant in every industry, why can't they be placed as extra teachers so we can get class sizes smaller? For example, if someone is already a scientist with work experience in biology, chemistry, etc surely they will be able to teach it at secondary level? Redundant IT engineers could teach what's relevant now in tech? HR or former project managers could teach English? Bankers teaching certain maths? I don't know but I think it is really important that we get more teachers (of course they would have to pass a background check). I mean perhaps we need to get more creative with curriculum and scrap the tests for now? Perhaps children who want to get into certain universities can take a SAT test like they do in America?

It just seems a shame that we have so many people being made redundant and we have such a pressing need to make more bubbles. Large bubbles imo, won't work. What will happen to keyworkers when their bubbles pop? It doesn't make sense to me. The only answer is to build more schools and have more teachers.

[motherrunner]

Well if HR lends itself to English, those in travel could teach Geography or those in entertainment could teach Drama or Music 🤷‍♀️

[TheFallenMadonna]

Teach First had to withdraw places at the last minute this year because of a lack of school vacancies.

If you want moe teachers, there needs to be a lot more money. And actual rooms.

[Biscuitsneeded]

Thank you for the chuckle OP. My DP has an electronics degree. Maybe I'll bring him to school with me next week to teach science to Year 9 and we'll see how that goes... He'd be a gibbering wreck by lunchtime, and my school is pretty nice, as they go. Subject knowledge is important, but teaching is about so much more than that.
Also, how many schools do you imagine have spare classrooms siting around empty just so that classes can be divided up in pandemics? Thought not.
I don't know what you do for a living, OP, but if I suggested I could walk in and do your job tomorrow wouldn't you be a bit alarmed?

[SayakaMurata]

OP you do know thst teachers have degrees as well as teaching qualifications, don't you?

[Ickabog]

@WhyNotMe40

I heartily believe that the more people "try teaching", the more we will be respected as a profession.
It's not as easy as the experts make it look

Agreed. All these schemes designed to get people who had a real job and industry experience, always attract people who think teaching is going to be a piece of piss compared to their previous job. Turns out they're often wrong.

[NotAKaren]

One of my DCs had an NQT at quite a crucial year of primary. The teacher really, really struggled leading to a disruptive year for all and then upped and left quite suddenly. The last things kids need right now is to be taught by inexperienced teachers.

[MaidenMotherCrone]

Because Kids!

[Triangularbubble]

“Not meaning to be disrespectful, but just wanting to find a way to smaller bubbles so kids can go back safely. Perhaps the teachers who are there could be given training responsibility, and be given raises? I don't know, just putting out ideas.”

I’m not a teacher. By all means recruit more suitable people to do actual teacher training. (And preferably do something about the education system to retain more of the teachers we have.) But I do think it’s disrespectful to teachers to suggest that you can just give someone with no teaching training or experience a dbs check and then put them in a classroom and expect them to be an actual teacher on the basis they’re good at maths or whatever. Never mind they have no teaching skills, no knowledge of child development, classroom management, pedagogy, the curriculum, exam technique.... Honestly, would you want your child taught like that? We have a shortage of doctors too - do you want your GP to have several years of medical training or are you happy if they have a biology degree and have maybe watched some Holby City?

[Biscuitsneeded]

The one suggestion you make that I do agree with is that schools could be getting all those poor actors and musicians who have no work in to provide a different sort of music/drama/dance lesson. They wouldn't need to know the school curriculum but could do workshops to inspire and enthuse young people, and performers tend to have the charisma, adaptability and creativity to cope with brand new situations. Unfortunately, there's no money to pay them.

[Cheeseandwin5]

I think by flooding the market with untrained, inexperence and unqualified ppl, it will mean that teachers pay will fall even more.
Which will mean the standards will fall too.

[SimonJT]

@elmouno Are you a teacher? If not are you starting your teacher training this year? If you aren’t training to be a teacher why not?

[ineedaholidaynow]

An actor could pretend to be a teacher, would that help.

[Decentsalnotime]

This is the type of suggestion that the known ridiculed local at an old boozer makes at the end of a night having drunk 8 pints.

[SayakaMurata]

An actor could pretend to be a teacher

Snort

[HedyPrism]

The reason for teacher shortages is poor retention of trained teachers, not poor recruitment.

[Nellodee]

I'd be very happy to see lots of engineering and finance professionals come in and join our maths staff. I think the next year will be god awful from the point of view of training, being observed, getting feedback, etc, and I don't envy anyone starting their career under those conditions, but I think under the circumstances, I would take what we could get. Anyone chasing perfection in the forthcoming year is going to be catching disappointment.

[Nellodee]

I'm thinking about people signing up to proper training courses at teaching schools, mind you.

[SnuggyBuggy]

Being good at something doesn't necessarily mean you are any good at teaching it or working with young people.

[wonderstuff]

@HedyPrism government has missed targets for the number of people taking up teacher training for the last 3 years at least. We have problems with recruitment and retention.

[Redcrayons]

School starts in just over a week in England. Even the most fervent teacher basher would admit it takes longer than a week to train a teacher.

[SimonJT]

@SnuggyBuggy

Being good at something doesn't necessarily mean you are any good at teaching it or working with young people.

Exactly, I’m good at maths (I sometimes solve complex questions for fun), I would be a disaster in charge of 30 children. You know when you hear of teachers telling kids to fuck off, throwing something at them etc. That would be me!

[Enoughnowstop]

I trained at the height of the last recession as a mature entrant to the profession (although had worked with young people for many years both in schools abroad and here in the UK as a youth worker). I went to the interview day and did a 'test' around a table with about 15 other mature, all male candidates. Their subjects were all science and maths. Not one of them appeared on the actual course 4 months later. You can read into that what you will - but mainly, the ITT providers don't/won't/can't take on people that they consider won't/can't pass or go the distance of the training course. Absolutely, we have a shortage of teachers and absolutely there is good financial incentive in some subject areas to train and in the middle of a recession I have no doubt that we will see more people putting themselves forward. But how many of them will make it through the NQT year, then the 5 and 10 year career point markers remains to be seen. It is a tough job and people out there in the 'real world' sadly can't see it.

Personally I predict that the recession plus covid will only serve as to undermine the profession even further and more and more good and experienced teachers will be walking away without a backward glance. Parents really need to open their eyes and start voting accordingly.

[MollyAtTheFolly]

There's no way we could afford another teacher at our school, even though we're 4 pupils over PAN.

Then we'd have to build another classroom to put them in. And if it's purely to make bubbles smaller, we'd have to do this x4.

The more teachers who are trained the better - don't fall into the trap of believing current teachers haven't already worked in different professions though. And they don't all find it plain sailing moving from whatever they did before into teaching. Some think it's the easiest thing ever. We're all different.

If it's to address the lack of teachers in some areas, how about we just treat the teachers who are already trained a bit more nicely?

[ThisIsNotARealAvo]

Yes, anyone can be a teacher

Even if it wasn't a really terrible idea, there's barely enough money under the current government to pay for the staff we do have. Lots of restructuring and redundancies in our LA. Specialist teachers and services are going.

I trained under the PGCE system so had a year of training plus teaching practices. It wasn't enough to really prepare me. We have lots of trainees who never finish the course and never qualify as they are completely unprepared for the fact that teaching isn't like the adverts, it isn't a job where you go home at 3.30 and the media and government hate you and tell everyone how easy your job is and that anyone can do it.

[SquashedFlyBiscuits]

Great idea OP.

I'm a teacher and I'm good at maths.

I'm going to go and be an accountant from tomorrow. I think I might end up with a pay rise and will either get a SD office or get to WFH. Keep these fantastic ideas coming OP.