Teach First is making radical changes to its teacher-training programme in a bid to cut workload and reduce the number of dropouts.
The charity is introducing a new Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) which will spread out assessments for Teach First trainees over two years rather than one.
Sam Freedman, Teach First’s executive director of programmes, said that the change would also help to provide participants with more consistent support.
“The first couple of terms are when it’s toughest to keep them engaged and to keep them on the programme,” he told TES. “We want to reduce the number leaving during the two-year course.”
Significant alterations
Currently, one in 10 Teach First participants drop out of the programme before the end, despite the risk of dropouts having to pay back up to £4,000 to cover some training costs.
Some have left the course - which is part of the charity’s work to tackle educational inequality - early to work in a private school.
But Mr Freedman hopes that changes to the programme - the most significant alterations since its foundation in 2003 - will address factors that may have driven new starters away.
When you are trying to get to grips with the basic skills, having to do essay writing wasn’t hugely helpful
Trainees will still work towards Qualified Teacher Status at the end of year one, but assessments will be spread out evenly over two years to avoid “cramming”.
“When you are trying to get to grips with the basic skills, having to do essay writing wasn’t hugely helpful,” Mr Freedman said.
A recent report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that 60 per cent of Teach First trainees were no longer working in state schools five years after training - and that the average cost to the government per trainee who is still working in a classroom was up to £70,000.
Increased support
On the group who drop out during the course, Mr Freedman said: “One of the biggest reasons for people leaving was that they didn’t have the support they needed in the school.”
As part of the new programme, which starts from summer 2017, participants will receive an in-school mentor, a university tutor and a senior Teach First support lead who will remain with the trainee for the whole two years.
In the past, participants had up to five support roles, with university tutors covering only the first year.
The training for the new qualification will also have a greater focus on practical skills - such as behaviour management, planning, and assessment - and participants will be given more time to practice these skills in school settings.
Mr Freedman said: “We want to really make sure they are ready on the first day of school to stand in front of a class. If you are confident from the start then it will make that first term less stressful and make you engage better with the teacher training.”
@Eleanor_Busby
