Opinion: Workforce

I’m still unqualified after ten years. Here’s why

The government is right to pursue flexibility as a retention strategy – but it could also help with recruitment from within the classroom

The government is right to pursue flexibility as a retention strategy – but it could also help with recruitment from within the classroom

14 Jan 2025, 5:00

After 10 years in education, five of those teaching my own classes at KS3 and KS4, I remain an unqualified teacher. It’s not through lack of effort or will, nor from lack of support from my school. But I am not alone, and fixing the issues that affect me and others like me is critical to solving the recruitment crisis.

Since taking office, Bridget Phillipson has returned regularly to the theme of greater flexibility for teachers as a means of improving retention. But flexibility could also resolve some important issues at the recruitment end of the workforce crisis.

I have been working at a large comprehensive school of 1,600 students for a decade. I began as a learning support assistant, completed my degree while working, and have since taught Years 7 to 11 for the past four years. No one could say I lack the motivation and ability to do the job.

Despite my lack of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), I meet every teacher standard. I am dedicated to my professional growth through school-led and external professional development. This summer, I marked over 500 AQA exam papers across two different scripts. AQA recognises my experience and value.

So, why haven’t I obtained QTS? The answer is simple: childcare. I am a parent to three children, with my middle child on the autism spectrum.

My school has been incredibly supportive, allowing me to work 0.9 FTE. This enables me to leave during the last lesson on certain days to facilitate school pickups. This flexibility is crucial for my family, especially for my son’s needs.

Personally, the greatest barrier I face lies in the second-school placement requirement for QTS. I agree that for many, a second placement may allow them to generate a broader perspective in terms of different schools’ approaches. For someone like me, however, the value of a second placement seems minimal.

Why haven’t I obtained QTS? Simple: childcare

Yet in spite of my five years of teaching experience and the variety of roles I’ve undertaken for the school, no provider will consider my application for assessment-only QTS without a four-to-six-week placement at another setting.

This isn’t only unfeasible for my family. It would also leave my current school struggling to cover essential KS3 and KS4 classes in an already under-staffed department.

The bursary offer in my subject of geography is a generous one, but the traditional university-based qualifying route it is attached to is just not practical for me or many like me.

Last year, the MTPT project revealed that women aged 30-39 are the biggest single group of leavers from the profession, calling for policies to reduce the ‘parent penalty’ to improve retention. If the aim is to have more qualified teachers in front of students, then let’s apply the same thinking to recruitment.

It is clear to me that more parents would be recruited to or be developed in the profession if we could simply be more flexible with placements when completing ITT.

I’m all for the government’s proposal to introduce flexible working for teachers. Their support for taking planning and preparation time at home is sensible. Why shouldn’t it be that this flexibility also applies to individuals undertaking ITT?

How many other experienced, committed teachers find themselves in similar situations, unable to progress due to rigid requirements? Surely, in the face of a teacher shortage, we should be seeking ways to retain and invest in capable educators without disrupting family life.

It’s time for a more flexible approach to teacher training that acknowledges the diverse paths teachers take and supports those trying to balance family and career.

This doesn’t have to mean the end of the second placement. That requirement is right for the majority. But if universities can accredit prior learning, there’s no reason QTS awarding bodies can’t recognise long service in lieu of a second placement.

I wouldn’t technically be one of the extra 6,500 new teachers the government has promised,  because I’m already doing the job. But having more qualified teachers as a proportion of the total must surely count for something to this government.

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