On-island teacher training to be available to more people
EDUCATION is expanding its scheme for training teachers in the island – but a leading teachers’ union is warning the move could be pointless.
The one-year on-island teacher training course will now be open to anyone who is an undergraduate or has a degree, where previous schemes were restricted to graduates already working in education.
Successful applicants will receive financial sponsorship from the States.
Education president Andrea Dudley-Owen said the new course, which will be offered from September, would train a new generation of local teachers.
‘What is particularly pleasing is the fact that the course we are offering ensures trainees can earn while they learn – an offering better than almost any that can be found in the UK,’ said Deputy Dudley-Owen.
The NASUWT, which represents dozens of local teachers, welcomed the new scheme. But it said it would fail without improvements to teachers’ pay and conditions.
‘While an expansion of opportunities and routes to enable more people to become teachers is welcome, securing the number of teachers needed both now and in the future in Guernsey relies on competitive and fair pay and good working conditions,’ said the union’s general secretary, Dr Patrick Roach.
‘Expanding initial teacher training provision will be futile unless fundamental improvements are delivered on teachers’ pay and working conditions first.
‘Teachers in Guernsey have experienced years of real terms pay erosion stretching back to 2008.
‘Teachers’ pay has fallen behind median earnings growth and pay awards given to other States employees and is increasingly uncompetitive compared with the UK, once the higher cost of living is taken into consideration.’
Trainees on the scheme will spend most of their time in schools and will work in at least two places.
After completing their training, they will become locally qualified teachers for one year, after which they will be able to apply for qualified teacher status with the UK’s Department for Education.
The scheme is intended to train both primary and secondary phase teachers.
‘We are very pleased now to be able to offer this validated course thanks to The Guernsey Institute’s partnership with Middlesex University,’ said Deputy Dudley-Owen.
‘Growing our own is key to Guernsey’s success in the future and being able to ensure our community can train and teach our next generation of teachers is very important to us as a committee. We think this is a very valuable investment.’
Director of Education Nick Hynes said the scheme would provide trainees with a contract for a minimum of three years’ teaching in Guernsey after they qualify.
‘The ability to train our own teachers right here on island is invaluable at a time when we, like the UK, continue to face recruitment issues,’ he said.
‘By having well-established and highly-regarded training and pathways for professional development in the teaching profession, we can ensure that our students have the best education they can, and our staff are properly equipped to deliver that education.’
Mr Hynes congratulated The Guernsey Institute for receiving validation of its course from Middlesex, which he said gave it ‘four commendations in recognition of the range of expertise across the training team’.
