Summary
THE NEW term has barely begun and already there is evidence of a growing staffing problem particularly in London schools. According to a report for the Department of Children, Schools and Families, new rules on teachers' obligations to cover for absent colleagues are expected to exacerbate heads' already extensive reliance on classroom assistants and cover supervisors.
Some of these, often retrained after jobs requiring little education, may be good at what they do. But most parents want to see their children taught by qualified teachers, not ex-postmen and security guards. Tony Blair's agreement with the teaching unions in 2003 to take routine jobs like photocopying away from qualified staff by introducing more teaching assistants had its merits, and large numbers of new support staff have been recruited. However, this has not prevented the crisis of recruitment and retention faced by the teaching profession, particularly in London. The high cost of living and extra challenges of teaching in inner urban areas mean that in some of the capital's schools, a third of the staff have to be replaced each year. The revolving staffroom door makes it hard for heads to build commitment and continuity.See the full content of this document
Extract
We Must Find Ways to Retain Our Teachers
Against that backdrop, the chances are high tha...
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