The BBC has been giving it both barrels today about the ‘teacher shortage’….a scandalous, never known before, disaster that the Tories are responsible for apparently.
Curous that this ‘sudden’ disaster is one that is an ever recurring one, not just in the UK but around the world….
‘The attraction and retention of teachers is a problem faced by schools worldwide and possibly more so in the public sector.’
The BBC is banging on about teacher shortages, retention and teachers teaching subjects they are not fully qualified to teach and that there is an acute shortage of teachers in certain subjects such as maths and science. So what’s new?
Let’s have a bit of perspective. There’s nothing new about this. It was a huge problem under Labour, a problem they clearly didn’t fix, and indeed made worse by their immigration policies. For the BBC, as always, history begins, for political purposes, in 2010 with a mainly Tory government…..all was beautiful and bright pre-2010, the Dark Ages only began with Cameron and his Etonian cabal.
For the BBC’s Journalists’ sake let’s have a look at some headlines from Labour’s time in office…and they’re from the Guardian…..apart from this one in 2000…from the BBC…how soon they forget….
Tories attack on teacher shortages
Schools are facing a “catastrophic” teacher shortage, warns the Shadow Education Secretary, Theresa may.
According to figures which the Conservatives will quote in a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday, there will be a shortage of over 30,000 teachers by 2004.
From the Guardian, 2004….
Variable pay could end teacher shortages
Targeted training and better pay for secondary school teachers working in deprived areas could significantly reduce teacher shortages, according to a Commons report published today.
The report, on teacher recruitment and retention published by the Commons education and skills committee, voices concern about the large number of staff teaching outside the subjects they originally qualified in and recommends that the government examines in more detail why up to a third of trainee teachers still quit before, or shortly after, entering the profession.
2004…
Report predicts ‘serious’ teacher shortage
Schools in England are going to be hit by a serious shortage of teachers over the next 10 years as nearly half of present staff retire, warns a report from the London School of Economics, which will make gloomy reading for the incoming education secretary, Ruth Kelly.
The report warns: “England has an ageing teaching profession, especially in primary schools – 40% of all teachers are aged 45-55, and those aged over 55 account for another 6% of the workforce. “Within the next 10 years, nearly 50% of the current workforce is likely to have retired. Since the number of pupils is not forecast to decrease significantly, at the current level of recruitment there is likely to be a large shortage of teachers.”
2004…
Class size crisis looms as more teachers quit
Britain’s education system is short of tens of thousands of teachers as staff fed-up with long hours and low pay quit, according to a new study. It warns that the problem of increasing class sizes will worsen over the next decade.
2006….
Low-attaining schools deprived of maths teachers, research shows
Pupils in low attaining schools are more likely to be being taught maths by teachers who are not qualified in the subject, according to research published today.
Just over one-fifth (21%) of maths teachers working in schools in England with the lowest GCSE results did not hold a post-A-level qualification in the subject.
2006…
Lack of PE teachers puts health drive in doubt
The government’s commitment to tackle childhood obesity has been thrown into doubt because Glasgow’s primary schools have only a handful of PE teachers.
2006….
Government ‘in denial’ of headteacher shortage
Headteachers today accused the government of being “in denial” over what they claim is a growing leadership crisis in England’s primary and secondary schools.
Their claims are based on new findings which reveal that there are now hundreds of schools without permanent senior staff to run them.
But surely we are awash with highly qualified mathematicians and scientists coming from Syria? Err, we are, aren’t we……….?
And gynocologists dont forget the gynocologists! – They seem to like em young so I am sure our new guests would be more than willing to help out in the schools until we can get loads more teachers trained after harvesting the magic money tree!
You are quite correct Lobster. Unfortunately they are all currently on a “gap decade”.
It is and has been for many years a key part of the liberal left’s (and therefore the BBCs) strategy to always discover and publicise “shortages” in tax-payer funded services. The implied answer is pay more to Teachers, nurses, doctors, etc.. Where will the money come from is never asked. But they always quickly identify and publicise “cuts”. So it has to be borrowing or, better still, higher taxes.
Which only the middle classes on paye pay!
Utter bullshit.
I`m a supply teacher-and can`t get a job for love nor money at the minute.
Reason for this?…I cost them too much, far cheaper for the bursar/financial wizards on site if they can cover absence with teaching Assistants/cover supervisors( both on barely more than the living wage)-scare teachers into not being ill or taking leave unless they`re important and able to blag the time and money(and they can and do).
It was Labour and the unions that gave us this mums army in schools where teachers used to be…and they colluded in this because there is no longer any REAL need to teach anything…just offer out join the dots and word searches…or run a film for the kids.
Thank You Labour-so to hear THEM talking about dumbed down lack of teachers is particularly galling…they just wanted Citizenship and Condom testing “delivered” done as cheaply as poss. And as long as Harman got onto the union magazine cover every term as well.
Labour and the teaching unions did this-the gormless Tories are now no better after the Gove Spring!
And next time some school talk about parents not being able to take their kids on holiday “because their education is so important”-do ask them if they employ real teachers to cover absent staff-or do they just rebadge the dinner lady or caretakers mate to “count out the marker pens for that poster”.
Hypocrites-time to shaft schools…the last bastion of the Left!
Just one proviso here though.
Yes there ARE shortages in London and Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester etc-after stabbings and murders of supply staff or language teachers, and that diverse student community who`ll know the word “paedophile” in all languages?…no surprise is it?
So you don’t provide any attempt to substantiate your accusation that BBC coverage of the issue stated this was ‘a scandalous, never known before, disaster that the Tories are responsible for apparently’…..and in saying its been a long term problem, then go on to point out where the BBC has reported on it previously…..including when Labour in power.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/990159.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/910822.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/vote2001/hi/english/main_issues/sections/facts/newsid_1181000/1181067.stm
Was this post supposed to be self-refuting!?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1114515.stm