Special school leaders fear the government’s plans to ensure all teachers have qualified teacher status (QTS) could limit the curriculum and worsen the recruitment crisis.
State-run special schools employ significantly more teachers without QTS than mainstream settings, according to a new report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
About 10 per cent of teachers in special schools do not have QTS, compared with 2 to 3 per cent in primary and secondary schools.
“This isn’t about SEND and AP being more willing to appoint unqualified staff,” said Nic Crossley, the chief executive of the Liberty Academy Trust. “Right across the sector, recruiting QTS teachers is a constant challenge.”
As well as staffing issues, she said there was no established QTS pathway for many of the vocational subjects taught in her schools. Instead, she employed industry professionals and higher-level teaching assistants who “bring valuable real-world experience and can do an excellent job”.
Staff without QTS are “less a preference, but more a necessity driven by the structure of teacher training and the limited availability of QTS staff in relevant disciplines.”
Recruitment challenges
QTS is a legal requirement to teach in many English schools. However, where no suitable qualified teacher is available schools can recruit staff with “special qualifications or experience”.
NFER research shows rates of special school staff without QTS are highest in the east of England (16 per cent) and London (14 per cent) — both areas with high rates of special school vacancies and temporary staff.
The government’s schools bill will extend to academies a requirement that teachers must have or be working towards QTS, which currently applies only to local authority-maintained schools.
The DfE has clarified the new law will not apply retrospectively. But SEND specialists worry it could have “unintended consequences” for special academies, which have a higher rate of unqualified teachers.
The government’s own impact assessment noted that “due to lack of supply, some schools may struggle to find the teachers that they need”.
Some special academies ensure that all teachers without QTS are on a pathway to qualification. Mark Wilson, the chief executive of the Wellspring Academy Trust, said that as a result, he had “no concerns” over the schools bill.
But Tom Pegler, the chief executive of the Propeller Academy Trust, said the bill would “absolutely” affect recruitment. “We are in a climate where it’s so hard to recruit anyway.”
Compared to applicants transferring from mainstream settings without significant SEN training, Pegler said: “I would argue that the children get a much better deal from some of our UQTs.”
Margaret Mulholland, a SEND and inclusion specialist at ASCL, said recruitment challenges meant schools might “appoint candidates with strong experience in areas such as autism, speech and language difficulties, or severe learning difficulties” even if they did not hold QTS.
Reduced flexibility, reduced curriculum
Many special schools are much smaller than their mainstream counterparts. Their size is reflected in their funding – and that can have a knock-on effect when it comes to curriculum, experts said.
Marijke Miles, the head of Baycroft School in Hampshire, said despite having more than 200 pupils on roll, her school could not afford qualified teachers in every subject.
“They would have to teach several subjects, or be employed only part-time,” she said. “Even I have to use unqualified staff simply to give me the breadth of the curriculum that my children deserve.”
Claire Dorer, the chief executive of the National Association of Special Schools, said the report’s headline figures should be “interpreted with caution”.
“Special schools often deliver a broader, more holistic curriculum designed to meet the unique needs of their learners,” she said. QTS in subjects such as horticulture or construction “may not necessarily confer an advantage”.
“This policy risks reducing the flexibility that special academies currently have to offer a curriculum best suited to their learners.”
James Bowen, the assistant general secretary of the NAHT, said: “Ultimately, what we really need is bold action to ensure there is a sufficient supply of teachers for all types of school.”
The NFER’s own recommendations included the need for the government to find out why so many special school teachers did not have QTS.
“Given the value successive governments (including the current one) have placed on the standards encoded in the QTS, this disparity should be monitored and evaluated,” it said.
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