Trainee teachers test revamp
Prospective teachers in England will face tougher tests in English and maths from next year before they are allowed to start training in the profession. The Government says the changes are needed to raise the status of teaching.
Latest ITV News reports
New tests for trainee teachers
Ministers have unveiled details of plans to overhaul tests taken by prospective teachers, saying they want to raise the status of the profession.
Political Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports:
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by Martha Fairlie - ITV News ReporterJudge Neil Ford QC has said there was no attempt made "to provide stimulating and safe environment" for residents at Winterbourne View care home.
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NUT: Teaching entry requirements is not the 'real issue'
All teachers need strong literacy skills and also a good grasp of mathematics.
It is however surprising that Michael Gove is showing such interest in the entry requirements for teacher training courses, while at the same time advocating that schools should be free to employ unqualified teachers.
The real issue is the training and support that teachers are given once they have entered into teaching training.
– Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of TeachersThe morale in the profession is at an all time low.
Unless the Education Secretary addresses issues of teachers’ pay, working conditions and pensions, there will be fewer and fewer recruits to a profession that has never been under such continual attack, regardless of the entry requirements.
Proposed numeracy question for would-be teachers
Here is one of the questions from the proposed numeracy test.
The cost, £C, of advertising in a newspaper is worked out using the formula: C = 0.4n + 0.75 where n is the number of words in the advertisement.
a) The cost of an advertisement is £11.55. How many words are in the advertisement?
b) If I have only £9.00, how many words can I afford?
Answers: A) 27 words B) 20 words
Tougher tests for teachers: Your views
Prospective teachers in England will face tougher tests in English and maths from next year before they are allowed to start training in the profession.
ITV News asked for your thoughts on these changes on Facebook. Here are some of the responses.
– Trudy WrenThat's ok if they are teaching Maths and English, but does a geography teacher really need to know Pythagoras Theorem?
– Hannah Nkele LetsholoThere is no need to make this tougher for teachers at all. A teacher is a professional after acquiring their degree.
– Lindsey FosterI have always wanted to be a teacher and I got to level 4 and stepped off as knew it would not be fair on the children even if I only wanted to teach 3-5 year olds.
I could have made it but I think it's only fair the standard should be higher. I agree with the changes.
Labour: 'Government continues to insult teachers'
Labour supports efforts to raise the quality but also the status of teachers, but other measures are needed.
We need more high flying applicants, and Labour has set out plans through our New Deal for Teachers to expand schemes like Teach First, improve training and on the job development and incentivise bright graduates to teach in less well off communities.
– Shadow Schools Minister Kevin BrennanHowever, the Government continues to insult teachers and damage morale with its extreme policies and out of touch rhetoric.
Michael Gove called teachers “whingers” and 10,000 teachers have left the profession. That is putting school standards at risk.
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Trainee teachers face tough new tests
Prospective teachers in England will face tougher tests in English and maths from next year before they are allowed to start training in the profession. Daybreak's Tiffany Royce reports.
Teachers 'don't just need to be smart'
Head teachers' union leader Russell Hobby has told Daybreak teachers need to be smart but also "warm, enthusiastic, have integrity and genuinely respect young people."
New standards 'raise the bar on teachers'
Charlie Taylor, chief executive at the Teaching Agency, has told Daybreak that the Government wants to raise the bar on teachers.
Prospective teachers will face tougher tests in English and maths before they are allowed to start training in the profession, the Government will announce today.
98% of trainee teachers passing current tests
The current tests, in both literacy and numeracy, are taken towards the end of teacher training. 98% of people pass.
From this autumn trainees have been limited to two re-sits for each paper and the pass mark has been raised.
The pass rate will be raised again over the next three years, with candidates eventually needing to score the equivalent of a grade B at GCSE to pass.