Unqualified teachers

[nearmiss]

Do teachers at your school have to declare their qualifications? You might be surprised to find that some schools are saving money by employing people who only have GCSE themselves, teaching KS4 lessons. I blew the whistle on an unqualified modern languages colleague who was clearly out of her depth, whose pronunciation and grammar was very weak, who was marking work right when it was wrong, giving A* grades to coursework that was at best C. Guess who ended up being made redundant? Clue: she's still there. The rationale given. She was a better teacher than me. For better, read cheaper.

[afterthought]

I teach outside of my specialism. I have actually taught this non-specialist subject longer than my specialism which I no longer teach. I am 'qualified' with both a PGCE and MA in education.

I may have never studied the specific nature of my subject, although it is linked to my degree but I have passion for it. My passion means that I spend a lot of time keeping up to date with developments in the subject area and I think my passion is reflected in my teaching. I would be a terrible teacher if I taught my specialism as while I love the subject, I hated teaching it.

I don't think being qualified is the be all and end all. My PGCE did not prepare me at all for teaching. There are many qualified teachers who are incompetent and many unqualified teachers who are amazing.

Competency is far more important than being a qualified teacher (I believe all teachers should have a degree standard education however).

[nearmiss]

Woodlands, like everyone in the profession, I have taught outside my specialism, it's part of the job. We've all done it. Timetables rarely allow for all staff just to be teaching one subject. It's a professional expectation that you have a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning.

[apermanentheadache]

Whoever said that maintained schools can employ staffwithout QTS is spot on. They are technically called instructors.

[woodlands01]

Good point re: primary schools pinkfrocks.

I suppose I should also comment on the positive too: my year 8 daughter has had an RE teacher for most of her Maths lessons this year and has exceeded her target by one sub level. I am currently supporting a PE teacher in year 8 maths who is fantastic and I have no doubt would be a very capable Maths teacher with some support, over time, where necessary. Some teachers can teach out of their specialism!

In private education I am not surprised that parental pressure works - when you pay for education you want high quality. In the state sector unfortunately most parents are unaware of these types of issues. Also if a non specialist is teaching Maths unsuccessfully it is probably because there is a problem recruiting so what is the solution? Getting rid just creates a gap filled by cover supervisor or HLTA.

[pinkfrocks]

I can see that you are bitter but you have had 2 different tales from 2 different people, so no one here can say which was correct!
It's common practise to employ cheaper teachers. It's sad if a good teacher is released due to cost issues but it's not uncommon.
Presumably if the other teacher feels out of their depth with having to teach beyond their expertise they could always leave?
When I was applying for teaching jobs way back when (I am now able to take my teachers' pension) it was still commonplace for younger, less experienced teachers to be chosen over more expensive teachers.
The bottom line to all of this is parents- if they are unhappy then they ought to contact the governors. When I worked in private ed, poor teachers didn't last 2 minutes because of parental pressure- it ought to be the same in state schools.

[nearmiss]

OP further to the above. I was told by the Head that my work had declined over recent months. However, I was told by the Deputy Head responsible for timetabling (who was unaware of the Head's comments to me) that the question was solely about funding.

[nearmiss]

OP. I was on a fixed term contract so was the other teacher who thought she was going to be teaching her own subject. My contract has not been renewed. I was told by a deputy head that they did not have the funding to keep us both on even though she was fully in agreement that my subject knowledge and experience of preparing students for exams is beyond question.
My Union can do nothing about this as there has been no breach of contract.

[bauhausfan]

We 'blew the whistle' to the LEA on the school secretary's daughter who was being paid to deliver Sats booster lessons (at a time when it was illegal for kids to be solely taught by unqualified staff). Nothing was done about it.

[bauhausfan]

I'm a qualified teacher and used to teach in inner city secondaries in my local area. It is absolutely true that many are unqualified (and inept). I have heard of someone going from dinner lady to TA to delivering a full GCSE maths syllabus. All the schools around us are academies too. I home educate my children.

[pinkfrocks]

woodlands- that is not unique to secondary schools. Almost all struggling primary age children who are moved out into groups for literacy support, are taught by a TA, who has been given instructions by the Senco, who in turn MAY have had some input from dyslexia / SpLD/ INSET teachers employed by LEA bases. The actual help is not much more than a mum employed as a TA, who cleans paint brushes one minute and 'teaches' the next.

[woodlands01]

Any school can employ unqualified teachers - my understanding is it is the head teachers decision, even in a state school.
I suspect noblegiraffe is referring to the fact that many schools do not have a full allocation of qualified Maths teachers. Many students are taught by qualified teachers specialised in other subjects, HLTAs (if you are lucky specialising in Maths), cover supervisors and unqualified staff who have been recruited with 'A' level Maths.
Another area I find of concern is those small groups of students requiring literacy and numeracy support in secondary schools, typically those who came in on level 3 or below. These groups are very often taught by teaching assistants directed by the SENCO or equivalent. No formal training or anything. How would you feel if your child who struggles with literacy is removed from lessons to work in a small intervention group that is led by a teaching assistance who does not have a grade C (or equivalent) in English? The problem is that parents don't know - why would you question it? The assumption is because the school is putting something in place it is well thought through and effective.
It really is wrong what is happening with unqualified staff. I was on strike too.

[pinkfrocks]

OP
I'm a bit confused over the actual process of your dismissal.

Were you on a temp contract?
Why were you made redundant in the first place?

I'm sorry if I've missed all of this but it's not clear at all what actually happened.

Were you not involved in any discussions over staffing with your HoD before you were asked to leave? Were you not able to give your side and share your doubts about your colleague's teaching ability?

No one except you knows what really happened here and TBH, has it crossed your mind that by 'blowing the whistle' - whatever that meant in practical terms- could have been why you were asked to leave? Could you have come over as a trouble-maker, and not a very nice person to work with?

[nearmiss]

Pinkfrocks, not everyone has a choice of schools. There are only three in a twenty mile radius here. One of these is a free school which received a completely damning Ofsted, and a barrage of parental complaints, not surprising since the head had never run a school before and employed lots of, yes, you can see where I'm going with this... unqualified teachers who had no experience of planning a curriculum and ensuring constant, rapid progress, so parents are pulling their kids out by the dozen thereby taking up spaces in the only other catchment schools. This is not good for the kids who are left there because there is nowhere else to go.
Free market economics have been imposed on education. There are plenty of excellent and fully functional LEA schools, there are plenty of excellent academies too. The transition for the better academies here was smooth because they just jumped on to what was an already excellent LEA school. This has not widened choice at all; it's just rebranding.

[Fram]

You see, the unqualified status of teachers in indpendent schools is often trotted out on MN as a bad thing. However, all the independent schools we know publish full staff lists, with qualifications, and which university they were obtained from, as standard. None of the maintained schools do this.

[EvilTwins]

Gove has made it pretty clear that academies can employ whomever they like. In my area, every single secondary, including the one where I teach, is an academy. Budgets are stretched, schools have limited resources. Employing unqualified teachers is one way to save cash. Gove is responsible for all of the above.

[spanish11]

In primary school my dc learnt Spanish with a teacher that made a lot of mistakes, my son sometimes told her that she was not right and of course the teacher was not happy.

My daughter once a week got a TA teaching her Maths ( no anymore) because she got a strong accent she could not understand her an she was getting 10 question right out 20 ( mental maths test), now they got a teacher that put the CD on and her marks are 18 more or less.

[balia]

It isn't really a free market, though. Most parents are limited by distance/transport. In some LEA's, all the schools are academies.I've never had a parent enquire after my credentials; I think most assume that their child will be taught by teachers. In the same way, I've never been to A&E and thought 'Ooh, I'll just check this is a doctor and not some bloke who delivers wheelchairs'.

[pinkfrocks]

The point is that parents choose the school they want - it's a free market.
No point dragging in free schools- it's up to parents to suss out the teaching and choose which school they want.

[balia]

It may have 'gone on for years', but never to this extent. In academies, 13% of the staff are now unqualified.

[Haggisfish]

Yep. Academies and free schools are free to employ who they like as teachers.

[ApplySomePressure]

You've only got Gove to thank for this one. This is why I strike.

[nearmiss]

Pinfrocks, of course the thought has run through my head that I was deluding myself. Being a reflective practitioner is part of the skill-set of any competent teacher.
The point I am making is that there are teachers in class who are not subject specialists and no amount of loveliness can compensate for not having enough subject knowledge to judge if a student's work is right or wrong.

[pinkfrocks]

I suspect- can't decide for lack of detail- that this person was in fact a qualified teacher but not qualified to teach MFL- but another subject?
Is that what you mean?

TBH the solution to this is parent power- parents need to know if a teacher- any teacher- is not up to the job. Then the governing body should be informed.

In independent schools, teachers are hired and fired all the time. In my first year in 1 indy school, 3 new teachers were shown the door when it became obvious that they weren't up to the job- and they were all highly qualified.

[pinkfrocks]

It's gone on for years love.
As long ago as 18 years I found out that a teacher who was teaching maths at DDs school ( very sought after single sex comp) was not qualified- though she did have a degree.

It's nothing new that there are unqualified ( without QTS ) teachers- that's why there are 2 pay scales- QTS and non QTS.

I haven't read every single word of your posts. I used to be a teacher so I know a bit about all of this.

I can see you are miffed but we only have your side of the story- you may think you are a great teacher but maybe the school had other opinions? You cannot prove they got rid of you because someone else was cheaper, can you? You could still have been in that position is they had kept a qualified teacher who was cheaper than a more experienced one.

[nearmiss]

This is why everyone should get behind the industrial action being taken by teachers and all public sector workers. Those free schools and academies who have been closed or put into special measures had one thing in common - inexperienced staff who had bought into media claims that teachers are overpaid bolshie morons who can't get a proper job. They found out the hard way that running a school takes real skill not just good intentions. It is the shape of things to come unless parents keep an eye on who is being recruited to teach and why.