Government keen to make teaching more accessible for potential career changers

2019-01-09

Ministers are keen to make it easier for prospective teachers to experience life in the classroom after a survey found two in five people believe they would be a good teacher.


As part of the government’s Get into Teaching campaign, more than 3,000 people were quizzed on what they believe makes a great teacher.


Some 44% believed they would make a good teacher given their ability to explain things, while 40% said they thought they could make learning fun.


Campaign spokesperson Roger Pope said the results showcase how a career in teaching can provide “a wider sense of fulfilment and worth”.


“A large proportion of people believe they would make a good teacher and see the draw and rewards of a career that can have an impact on so many,” he said.


Education secretary Damian Hinds is preparing to unveil a new government teacher recruitment and retention strategy and he is keen to give anyone who believes they have what it takes to become a teacher the tools to try it.


“The fact that two in five people think they have what it takes to be a teacher is fantastic and I want to give these kind of people the opportunity to see what it is like standing in front of a class,” Mr Hinds explained.


“As part of our recruitment and retention strategy, we are working on a programme to help interested people discover what a joy teaching can be.”


While confirming that support will be included in the industrial strategy, the Department for Education is yet to reveal more details.


An estimated 13,000 people took part in teaching placements to discover more about life in the classroom in the last year on schemes including the Teaching Internship Programme and School Experience Programme, according to official government figures.


The latest news follows an announcement in November 2018 that three organisations were to receive a share of £10 million to help recruit PhD graduates and career changers into teaching.