The Scottish government revealed earlier this month that it was set to tender for a new route into teaching that Teach First would be able to bid for. A media storm ensued, with the EIS teaching union issuing a press release saying Teach First had been rebuffed by the government in the past and “any change in that position would be a betrayal of the high professional standards we operate”.
Here, we explore how Teach First works in England and why there is such opposition to the scheme in Scotland.
What is Teach First?
Teach First is a programme that aims to fast-track highly qualified graduates into teaching who would not otherwise have considered the profession. New recruits have a 25-day summer school with a partner university. They spend the first year in school on an 80 per cent timetable, working towards a postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE) over two years. Teach First began in London in 2003 and sells teaching as a vocation, highlighting closing the attainment gap as its mission. It is as much a leadership programme as an education one, and many recruits bow out of teaching after the first two years.
Why does it seem the programme could come to Scotland now?
The Scottish government has repeatedly said - including in its 2016 education delivery plan - that it is interested in a new route into teaching aimed at “getting high quality graduates into priority areas and subjects”. The government said it would be tendering shortly and Teach First would be able to bid.
Why is the EIS union so anti-Teach First?
The union thinks new routes could dilute standards of teacher professionalism. An emergency motion to their annual general meeting, in Perth last week, received unanimous backing. It said the EIS would “campaign against any proposals that would reduce the current balance between academic and practical placements” in initial teacher education.
EIS education convener Susan Quinn said the union was not opposed to alternative paths into teaching, but it was “simply absurd” to suggest someone could be put in a classroom after five weeks’ training and raise attainment.
Any other issues?
The University of Oxford’s Professor Ian Menter said that Teach First was expensive and that around half of trainees move out of teaching after two years. “That, after all, is why it is called Teach First,” he said. “Many trainees have become good teachers, but the high rate of attrition undermines the programme value.”
But isn’t Scotland facing a recruitment crisis - couldn’t the country do with some new routes into the profession?
Yes. The universities have come up with 11 new routes into teaching - including a fast-track option for Stem graduates - at the behest of education secretary John Swinney. The feeling is these should be allowed to bed in before any new routes are pursued. Unions argue it is not the routes into the profession that are putting people off, but poor pay and conditions.
Who in Scotland likes Teach First?
Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, supports it. She berated Nicola Sturgeon for allowing 400 talented graduates interested in teaching to slip through her fingers because they were attracted to “the very successful Teach First programme”. Her comments came after a Teach First submission to the Scottish Parliament’s education committee revealed that, since 2012, 392 participants had listed their first degree as taken in Scotland, with 193 of those still in the country.
What does Teach First say?
That it is open to developing a programme for Scotland, but any new model must be bespoke and made in and with Scotland and its world-leading higher education institutions.
@Emma_Seith
