Politeia, the right-wing think-tank, is so concerned about the quality of primary teachers that it advocates all primary trainees having A-levels in the subjects they teach (“Woodhead critical of Bell view on training”, TES, October 29).
Given the current way trainees are deployed as generalist class teachers this would mean trainees having to have 10 or 11 A-levels. They would certainly be an elite - so elitist that no one could ever qualify !
But perhaps Politeia wants all primary teachers to be deployed as subject specialists along the lines of traditional grammar school teachers ? In which case of course they would only need one A-level - a “dumbing down” rather than an improvement on the current situation.
Professor Colin Richards 1 Bobbin Mill Spark Bridge Cumbria
