Pupils learning suffers as schools recruit teachers to teach subjects they are not qualified in
Applying for a job let alone being offered a job that you were not qualified in would have been unheard of a few years ago. However, this the stark reality facing many schools in England today; teachers teaching subjects they do not have a relevant degree in. Nearly 37.5 per cent of Physics teachers do not have any post-A Level qualification despite the fact thousands of children rely upon them to help them pass exams. This figure has risen by 4 percentage points in just 2 years and there are no signs of it stopping.
The recruitment crisis in Education has seen its biggest teacher shortages. 27.1 per cent of chemistry teachers and 26.3 per cent of maths teachers do not have a degree in the subject, both rising 3.2 and 3.9 percentage points respectively in two years.
Computer Science/ICT, English, History, Geography, French and other languages are also the top subjects facing shortages. More than half of Spanish teachers did not study the language yet were teaching a class full of optimistic pupils. On a positive note subjects such as Drama, Media Studies and Citizenship have seen a rise in the number of teachers qualifying. John Pugh said: “The Government need to get a grip on this crisis. We need to stop allowing schools to be able to grab virtually anyone off the street and allow them to teach anything from physics to advanced maths.” “We need to support teachers rather than what the Government currently do – finding every opportunity to do the profession down.”
According to a survey by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) 68 per cent of staff said in the past year the number of professionals teaching subjects they were not qualified in had increased. The reason for this is down to a combination of the school funding crisis, lack of support and training particularly for Newly Qualified Teachers, shortage of teachers and growing class sizes. Schools are desperate and going to any lengths just to keep a float. As a result, the quality of teaching drops and the pupils learning begins to suffer. Members of the NUT have threatened to hold a national strike next term over budget cuts, job losses and pay caps.
