People looking for secondary teaching jobs in the south-east of England may be interested in knowing that a new free school in the area will consult with the public next month ahead of its planned launch in 2014.

Dv8 Academy is set to open its doors at the start of the next academic year and will begin a six-month consultation with the public on November 1st, reports the East London and West Essex Guardian Series.

It is one of four new free schools announced by the Department of Education for the Waltham Forest area earlier this year and part of the formal process is to hear concerns of the local residents prior to opening. Issues set to be discussed over the coming weeks include proposed admission arrangements, the school’s curriculum and its final location.

Dv8 Academy hopes to specialise in creative classes and the initial intake is expected to be 300 students, although this will increase to 400 after the first year.

The status of teachers in free schools has been a hot topic in the education sector of late, with several important political figures wading into the debate. High-profile Conservatives such as the mayor of London Boris Johnson and education secretary Michael Gove believe that free schools should have the autonomy to employ who they want in their classrooms - even if staff do not have recognised teaching qualifications. 

This led to a free primary school in London appointing a postgraduate student with no previous teaching experience as its head. The appointment was widely criticised and the teacher in question quit her role within four months. 

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg recently said he would like all teaching staff in free schools to have fully-qualified status to ensure a basic level across all educational establishments in the UK. 

If you are looking for a teaching job in London, do you feel that you should be competing for positions with non-qualified candidates? Let us know your thoughts on the subject.