Plans to strengthen qualified teacher status (QTS) could be hampered, unless academies and free schools are forced to employ qualified teachers, say training providers.

The government is currently consulting on proposals to change teacher training, to extend the induction period for newly-qualified teachers from one to two years.

The changes, due to start from September 2019, would mean that at the end of initial teacher training, trainees would gain QTS (provisional) before QTS would be awarded at the end of two years.

The Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) supports the principle of a two-year induction with improved mentoring and new content. But it points out that academies and free schools do not currently have to employ qualified teachers.

“If the proposals are to achieve their full potential, the requirement that all teachers hold QTS must also be extended to all publicly funded schools, including free schools and academies,” James Noble-Rogers, executive director of UCET, said.

“Re-introduction [of the requirement that all teachers hold QTS] would also remove any incentive for academies and free schools to avoid their new responsibilities in regards of CPD and induction by employing unqualified teachers,” the UCET consultation states.

QTS consultation 

The number of unqualified teachers in schools has risen by more than 60 per cent since 2012, when academies were given the freedom to employ them.

UCET supports the proposal for extending the induction period - although it points out that this would need to be properly funded.

And it also warns that if there is a perception that the “final” award of QTS is being delayed, this could dissuade people from entering the profession.

It suggests that rather than awarding QTS (provisional) followed by QTS after induction, the current QTS could be kept as it is, with perhaps a “confirmed” or “enhanced” QTS at the end of induction.

“We realise that this is partly an issue of perception and language - but such things are important, especially in the context of a challenging recruitment situation,” the consultation response states. “The use of ‘provisional’ will send the wrong message.”

The consultation also looks at how to encourage a culture of continuing professional development - including the possibility of sabbaticals.

The government has said that it wants teachers embarking on their careers to be “better supported with a consistent offer of development and mentoring”.

The consultation ends on 9 March.

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