DfE defends poor take-up on Troops to Teachers scheme
24 July 2014
The government says it expects its £2 million Troops to Teachers scheme will go from strength to strength, despite Opposition claims that it has failed and trade union fears that it devalues the profession.
Thur, 24 Jul 2014The government says it expects its £2 million Troops to Teachers scheme will go from strength to strength, despite Opposition claims that it has failed and trade union fears that it devalues the profession.
The scheme, which placed only 41 trainees in classrooms in its first year, provides two years' on-the-job training for ex-armed forces personnel as well as a £12,000-£16,000 salary.
Another 61 recruits are expected to start this September, says the Department for Education.
A spokesman from the department says: "Ex-service personnel have invaluable skills and experiences to bring in to teaching. They know how to earn respect, motivate and communicate.”
The DfE explains the low numbers by saying that entry requirements were kept deliberately high to ensure the scheme attracted top-quality recruits with a background in military values of leadership, discipline, motivation and teamwork.
Non-graduate candidates need good service records and GCSEs at grade C in English and maths, while would-be primary teachers need science at GCSE level.
Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt says the scheme, which puts trainees straight into the school-based programme after a minimum of one week's work experience in a school, has been "an embarrassing failure".
Trainees undertake on-the-job training four days a week and have a day for academic study. After two years, they become qualified teachers and gain an honours degree in education.
Teaching unions have criticised the entry requirements, suggested that two years’ training is insufficient and cast doubt on the idea that a good service record means a candidate will make a good teacher.
However, Graham Brown, managing director of the Forces Recruitment Services (FRS) agency, is supportive of the scheme, argues that those who have been in the military will bring extensive training and coaching skills to teaching roles, as well as valuable life experience. He says that during service, military personnel often increase their rank by developing their instructing skills, and that FRS has been placing them in educational settings for the past 13 years.
He tells Recruiter: “The people who are coming into this have got 10 or 15 years of instructional experience behind them. It is not like they have never stood up in front of a classroom before – they have been doing it for years. It just happens that the majority of people they have been instructing and training have been military people.”
Brown adds that experience of operational duty will make candidates a valuable asset to the teaching profession, especially in challenging or difficult schools.
The scheme, which placed only 41 trainees in classrooms in its first year, provides two years' on-the-job training for ex-armed forces personnel as well as a £12,000-£16,000 salary.
Another 61 recruits are expected to start this September, says the Department for Education.
A spokesman from the department says: "Ex-service personnel have invaluable skills and experiences to bring in to teaching. They know how to earn respect, motivate and communicate.”
The DfE explains the low numbers by saying that entry requirements were kept deliberately high to ensure the scheme attracted top-quality recruits with a background in military values of leadership, discipline, motivation and teamwork.
Non-graduate candidates need good service records and GCSEs at grade C in English and maths, while would-be primary teachers need science at GCSE level.
Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt says the scheme, which puts trainees straight into the school-based programme after a minimum of one week's work experience in a school, has been "an embarrassing failure".
Trainees undertake on-the-job training four days a week and have a day for academic study. After two years, they become qualified teachers and gain an honours degree in education.
Teaching unions have criticised the entry requirements, suggested that two years’ training is insufficient and cast doubt on the idea that a good service record means a candidate will make a good teacher.
However, Graham Brown, managing director of the Forces Recruitment Services (FRS) agency, is supportive of the scheme, argues that those who have been in the military will bring extensive training and coaching skills to teaching roles, as well as valuable life experience. He says that during service, military personnel often increase their rank by developing their instructing skills, and that FRS has been placing them in educational settings for the past 13 years.
He tells Recruiter: “The people who are coming into this have got 10 or 15 years of instructional experience behind them. It is not like they have never stood up in front of a classroom before – they have been doing it for years. It just happens that the majority of people they have been instructing and training have been military people.”
Brown adds that experience of operational duty will make candidates a valuable asset to the teaching profession, especially in challenging or difficult schools.
