The new schools minister has said he wants to see an undergraduate teaching apprenticeship offered “as an option” in order to address teacher recruitment woes.
His comments set him apart from his predecessor Nick Gibb, who long opposed a route for teachers without a degree to take an apprenticeship route into the profession.
At present, the only teaching apprenticeship available is a level 6 postgraduate qualification, meaning applicants need to have already obtained a university degree.
Department for Education officials and a “trailblazer” group of sector officials have been working on the feasibility of an undergraduate teaching apprenticeship for years.
Proponents of an undergrad route say it would address concerns there are not enough routes on which schools can spend their apprenticeship levy funding.
Gibb’s opposition, as well as technical issues around how the apprenticeship would be assessed, have stood in the way of the proposal coming to fruition.
But asked by Schools Week for his view, Gullis said today he “certainly want[s] to see it as an option and would like to explore the opportunity, because recruitment and retention, recruitment in particular, is a challenge.
“We can’t just solely rely on the postgraduate routes, we have to have variety in the marketplace.”
However, Gullis acknowledged some would “rightly be concerned about the level of depth of subject knowledge, particularly in key stage 4, key stage 5”.
“So I think if we were going to do something like this, it’d be best to start it at the early years and primary sector.”
However, his comments are likely to raise questions about the relative need for more teachers in the primary sector. Last year, the government recruited 136 per cent of the primary teachers it needed, compared to just 82 per cent of secondary.
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