YHA appoints new Director of Strategy and Engagement
Youth charity YHA (England and Wales) has appointed Anita Kerwin-Nye as the Director of Strategy and Engagement. A highly accomplished charity leader with over 20 years of experience in the sector, Anita will take up her role on 1 November 2018. Within her new role, she will further develop YHA’s charitable focus, partnerships and programmes and strategic communications. Anita has worked closely with YHA for a number of years through her work across education, charities, including the Learning Away consortium of which YHA is a member. Founder of Every Child Should, a campaign to ensure all children can access a rich and rounded set of experiences by the time they are 18, Anita is recognised as a national leader in inclusion and access. Welcoming her to YHA, James Blake Chief Executive commented: “Anita will bring energy, insight and impetus to our work in a number of areas, including the development of our charitable focus, partnerships and programmes and strategic communications. “Her knowledge of YHA through her work with the Learning Away consortium, means she is well placed to drive forward YHA’s ambition to be the leading youth charity, providing life enhancing travel and adventure to young people who need it most.” Anita added: “I am delighted to join YHA at such a formative time in its 88-year history. The opportunity to play a key role in shaping YHA’s next fundraising steps to support more children and young people is one I very much welcome “I believe YHA can play a fundamental role in ensuring that all children born today have outdoor experiences at every stage of their childhood and the associated health, wellbeing and life skills benefits.” Anita is James Blake’s first senior appointment to the companies Executive Team since he took over the leadership of the charity last year. Keen to expand YHA’s charitable impact, Anita will take a key role in working alongside James to reach more young people across England and Wales to deliver measurable life changing experiences. www.yha.org.uk
Dyslexia Awareness Week – how to get involved
Dyslexia Awareness Week kicks off today and runs from 1-7 October. Here, we take a look at some of the events planned by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and find out about the organisation’s year-round work… Go Green for Dyslexia (sponsored by Nessy Learning) To kick off the week, on Monday 1 October, organisations and schools including M Shed and Brunel’s SS Great Britain in Bristol and Cardiff Bay Barrage will be lighting up green for Go Green for Dyslexia along with 3,000 children in 150 schools donning green for the day. The activity is originated and organised by Nessy Learning who have been making fun, educational software for children since 1999 and offer the complete dyslexia aware solution with a suite of multisensory products aimed at making learning to read, write and spell fun. No Pens Day (sponsored by Touch-type Read and Spell) Every year, new technology continues to reduce the times we need to communicate our thoughts using a pen. With writing using a traditional pen and paper being something that people with dyslexia find particularly difficult, advances in assistive technology make life much easier – these range from increased access to laptops and tablets to dictation software and communicating using totally visual methods like video. No Pens Day celebrates how far we have come with communication technology by encouraging teachers to get their classes to abandon pens for the day and embrace technology alternatives. Local awareness events Throughout the week, local organisations are hosting events to raise awareness among communities of 21st century dyslexia – including at schools like Newcastle College and Kings Norton Girls’ School, at local authorities Wiltshire and Leicestershire County Councils and organisations like the London Grid for Learning. People will be sharing their events and experience through the week using the hashtag #21stcenturydyslexia. Dyslexia Awareness Week Awards Nominations are open through the week for the annual awards. The BDA is looking for pupils, parents, educational professionals and organisations to make nominations to the four categories at this year’s awards. Free Dyslexia Awareness Week webinars The BDA will be running free webinars during this week, including Realising Potential Through Enabling Technologies by Dr Abi James. Dr James’ webinar will explore why technology can help children and adults with dyslexia. Dr James will introduce some of the best technologies available in schools and the workplace, and discuss the ways to utilise them. To register for this webinar and others click here. About The British Dyslexia Association The BDA aims to bring about a dyslexia friendly society. Since its creation over 40 years ago the BDA has worked tirelessly to develop a network of national and international support for individuals who are dyslexic including the development of local dyslexia groups that work with the BDA to provide parents, educators and individuals with dyslexia access to services, training, information and support. Through its activities the BDA strives to achieve its key goals: To build awareness of dyslexia in all sectors of society. Early identification of dyslexic difficulties for all in society. Availability of effective and appropriate teaching provision for all children and adults with dyslexia. Availability of appropriate assessments for all children and adults with dyslexia. Reasonable adjustments for individuals with dyslexia within all sectors of society (including education, employment, training and the criminal justice services). Information is available for individuals with dyslexia across the age ranges and sectors, and for those who support them including effective strategies to help overcome dyslexia related difficulties, and how to maximise the strengths of those with dyslexia. The training activities of the BDA are a crucial part of their work. For those within an education setting there is a wide range of training from dyslexia awareness and identification through to teaching literacy and classroom support strategies. For employers training is available to assist them in implementing reasonable adjustments for their employees with dyslexia and strategies to empower those individuals. Training is delivered through open courses for individuals, onsite bespoke training for groups and summer schools. BDA training events help to raise awareness of dyslexia in all age ranges and sectors of society. The BDA organises around 400 face-to-face training events per year, with excellent feedback; each one bringing us closer to a dyslexia friendly society. In 2015, the BDA launched its eLearning platform the purpose of which was to enable a wider audience to be able to access high quality training in dyslexia support. ELearning enables the BDA to bring quality training and expertise to individuals who would otherwise be unable to access this due to factors such as time and cost constraints or geographical location. Individuals can work through the modules at their own pace and also when and where it is convenient for them to do so. They can be confident in the knowledge that support with their learning and development is available from highly skilled and experienced dyslexia specialists. For more information on the Dyslexia Awareness Week Awards, click here.
Outstanding school to become first Academy in Frank Field Education Trust
Wilmslow Grange Community Primary School in Handforth, Cheshire, has been approved to become the lead school in the Frank Field Education Trust (FFET). FFET is chaired by well-respected, long standing local MP for Birkenhead and champion of social justice, Frank Field MP. Its ethos is to promote social justice through outstanding educational provision to improve the life chances of all children and young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, so that they fulfil their potential. Wilmslow Grange will become the first Academy in and is rated Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted. Its results are amongst the top-1000 in the country with a national profile for curriculum development and the inclusion of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Condition and other Special Educational Needs. Wilmslow Grange staff will assist schools that subsequently join FFET with this expertise. It is anticipated that FFET will be announcing the conversion of subsequent Outstanding schools imminently. Tom Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of FFET, said, “We welcome Wilmslow Grange joining FFET. We are honoured that such an Outstanding school should become the Lead school in our Trust and we look forward to them supporting subsequent schools to offer exciting, high-achieving curricula whilst retaining an inclusive ethos.” Mark Unwin, Headteacher of Wilmslow Grange, said, “We are very pleased to be joining the Frank Field Education Trust and find that their high-expectations and desire for a rich, exciting educational experience for all children accords very closely with our own. We believe that our expertise can assist schools within the Trust and promote social justice for the most disadvantaged schools and families in the North West in line with FFET’s vision and we look forward to an exciting next stage of development for Wilmslow Grange.” About the Frank Field Education Trust The Frank Field Education Trust (FFET) is chaired by well-respected, long standing local MP for Birkenhead and long-term champion of social justice, Frank Field MP. The Trust’s ethos is in line with that of Frank himself; it will promote social justice through outstanding educational provision to improve the life chances of all children and young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, so that they fulfil their potential. FFET welcomes schools sharing this ethos to join the Trust and hopes a number will do so over the course of this academic year, with all growth carefully managed and in the best interest of pupils. For more information on the Frank Field Education Trust school, see wilmslowgrange.cheshire.sch.uk
New look Quizalize automates differentiated learning
New look Quizalize provides students with support and extension activities after they finish quizzes, plus these are tailored to their level of understanding and is sent directly to their devices. Quizalize, the award winning gamified formative assessment tool from UK edtech company Zzish – known for its real-time teacher dashboards, has optimised the programme to make it easier for teachers to differentiate their teaching and, for the first time, measure the precise effectiveness of teaching resources at improving student mastery of topics. Both Quizalize and Zzish was created by former Google product manager Charles Wiles, who has a PhD in AI from Cambridge University, and who was inspired to quit his day job and develop the platform five years ago when his teenage son was struggling at school in the bottom sets. Mixed ability learning made easy Teachers’ unsustainable workloads have made headline news for many years, with previous research showing that over 70% of primary and secondary school teachers have pulled ‘all nighters’ to prepare for lessons. The difficulties in teachers sustaining mixed ability or ‘differentiated learning’ methods tailored to each individual student’s needs have also been discussed among professional communities on influential teacher platforms, with lack of time cited as the main problem for successful implementation. Quizalize’s parent company, Zzish, has now optimised the programme’s “Virtual Teaching Assistant” capabilities to automate the processes for differentiated learning. It is expected to significantly save teachers’ time on lesson preparation, results analysis and management of tailored, mastery-based exercises. As well as the capability to identify instantly “who needs help, what they need help with, and how they can be helped” – teachers can now also pre-assign tailored follow-up exercises once students have completed an interactive game or assessment that measures their mastery of a topic. These assessments come as two interactive games – a basketball game called HOOPS and a First To Reach The Flag game. Depending on how students perform on completion of the interactive assessment, these pre-assigned follow-up activities set by the teacher are automatically activated to reinforce mastery over subjects. Levels of mastery are divided into three bands: those achieving 50% or less in the test; those achieving 50-80%, and those achieving over 80%. These pre-assigned follow-up activities can contain links to learning resources, such as tutorial videos on YouTube, practice resources such as PDF worksheets, and extension resources, such as pages on web sites explaining advanced concepts. Each help students at different levels progress and reach the next level of mastery. After students have used or completed the follow-up activity, they are then automatically re-quizzed with the same interactive game in order to measure their new mastery levels and the system then updates data on the effectiveness of each resource in improving learning. Measuring effectiveness of learning resources When assigning differentiated follow-up activities, the integrated search engine provides recommendations for the most effective learning resources for each level of student mastery. The system learns and improves its recommendations as more and more teachers use it, particularly highlighting used resources that have proven to have a high ‘improvement efficacy’ in students. As other teachers in the Quizalize community use specific resources to improve the mastery levels of their students, data is aggregated and the system calculates and provides a predicted percentage improvement in student scores that each resource will deliver when used with students of a particular mastery level. Post-assessment Quizalize also gives multiple views and performance breakdowns on both a class and individual basis using simple bar charts. The views have titles such as “who needs help” and “what they need help with” making It easy for teachers to get the insight they need in real-time so they don’t need to print or download anything if they don’t want to. All the data is safe in the cloud. Charles Wiles, founder of Zzish and Quizalize commented: “Differentiated instruction endeavours to address the individual needs and abilities of every student in a group so that everyone has the best chance of learning. That’s great in theory, but in practice we hear that teachers are struggling to implement this because they crucially lack time. By optimising the capabilities of our Zzish Hub “Virtual Teaching Assistant” that powers Quizalize, we have streamlined this process and automated it so that any assessment app, including Quizalize, can be genuinely useful to teachers on both the lesson preparation, grading and mastery front.” He continued: “We are the first platform to measure “improvement efficacy” of learning resources, and the first platform to measure resource efficacy for students grouped into different levels of mastery. We believe this will help teachers make better decisions around which resources to use for differentiated learning, and it will also drive the quality of resources for teaching and learning to a higher level. We will continue our work to incorporate AI into our systems in order to improve the platform’s predictions of “improvement efficacy”, further refining our predictions for how each individual student will improve for each learning resource.” Zzish’s technology is part of the real-time formative assessment movement – a new generation of edtech that works in the classroom itself allowing teachers to make more effective and more timely interventions. The Zzish Hub “Virtual Teaching Assistant” is a universal platform and gives any digital educational application that ‘plugs in’ the ability to provide teachers with real-time insight into student and class performance. Moreover its efficacy based recommendations helps teachers quickly discover the best apps and resources. Such technology is finally demonstrating the power of edtech and has been proven to improve end of year assessment scores by 10% in six months in a group of grade 6 science students in the US. Today, 125,000 teachers and 2 million students have signed up to Quizalize. Quizalize was a finalist in the Teach Secondary’s Technology & Innovation Awards 2016 for its role in improving standards of teaching and learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 during the 2015/16 academic year. It is also a finalist in last year’s E-Assessment Awards for Best Use Of Formative Assessment and was selected by the
Evac+Chair launches guide to emergency evacuation for educational premises
To ensure schools, colleges, universities and academies are fully-equipped with the knowledge to evacuate safely, Evac+Chair has launched: A Specialist Guide to Emergency Evacuation for Educational Premises. Exploring emergency evacuation procedures in educational facilities, the guide is aimed at headteachers, principals, governors, vice-chancellors, facilities managers, occupiers and owners of educational premises. The report looks at who is responsible in an emergency evacuation, what to do in an emergency, who requires specific emergency evacuation training and how to ensure mobility-impaired pupils are evacuated safely from any education environment. Gerard Wallace, managing director at Evac+Chair said, “We’ve been manufacturing evacuation chairs for 35 years, so we believe many of those responsible for evacuating educational establishments might value a simple but specific guide as to what measures needs to be in place in case of an emergency in an educational facility. “Schools and universities often have hundreds or even thousands of people in them at one time, a significant number of whom may be mobility-impaired and therefore the principal and nominated staff need to know the right procedures for the right people. This is where our guide comes in. “Our new education guide gives precise advice to help minimise the risks in any school, university, college or academy in an emergency situation.” It’s proven that knowing what to do in an emergency saves lives and prevents extreme circumstances going from bad to worse. More so, being able to accommodate anyone regardless of their mobility issues is of growing importance for inclusivity in educational facilities. To improve student, visitor and staff safety at your own facilities, download your copy of the guide today from the Evac+Chair website: www.evacchair.co.uk/a-guide-to-ensure-schools-and-universities-are-educated-in-safe-emergency-evacuation/ Educators responsible for school safety need to understand emergency evacuation procedures. Staff employed in any educational premises must know their role in an emergency and be well-educated to ensure everyone is evacuated safely from a building. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 emphasises risk reduction and fire prevention. Managing fire risks within your school and providing an evacuation plan to all staff, pupils and visitors are legal requirements of the Fire Safety Order.The main rules under the order are that workplaces, including schools and other educational institutions, must carry out a fire risk assessment, identifying possible dangers and consider those who may be especially at risk. The Fire Safety Order is clear – the ‘responsible person’ needs to ensure everyoneis evacuated safely during an emergency. Who is the responsible person? In an educational establishment, the ‘responsible person’ could be the headteacher, the principal, chancellor, president, vice-chancellor, master or the board of governors. In schools maintained by the local authority, the ultimate responsibility for fire safety lies with the council but duties can be delegated. Alongside the ‘responsible person’, schools, colleges and universities should enlist fire wardens and management to deploy regular co-ordinated practice sessions including practice with relevant equipment to ensure vital skill sets do not diminish. Specific drills should also be conducted with a reduced number of staff and students in order to be prepared for an emergency taking place outside normal working hours. The safe evacuation of the school is not the responsibility of the fire service. Your education establishment’s procedure should clearly set out which members of staff are responsible for students and which are responsible for checking different areas during an evacuation. Specialist equipment Evacuation chairs are proven to be the most efficient and user-friendly aids in emergencies, enabling the operator and passenger to safely exit the building. Due to more than one person possibly needing assistance, other types of evacuation products may be required such as slide sheets, rescue mats or stretchers in addition to evacuation chairs. All evacuation aids must be located in a designated refuge point which is specified in the building’s fire strategy. Each fire exit must accommodate the able-bodied and mobility-impaired so all equipment must be readily available and accessible at the refuge point. The responsible person and specific individuals who will assist the mobility-impaired during an evacuation, are fully trained to use Evac+Chairs by Evac+Chair’s specialist trainers. This training is to one of two standards: dedicated operator or key trainer. Royal Latin School in Buckinghamshire Case Study – Problem Royal Latin School identified the need for additional emergency evacuation aid for mobility-impaired students, staff and visitors. Solution The school installed 15 Evac+Chairs to ensure safe escape routes for everyone as well as providing key members of staff with Evac+Chair’s servicing maintenance programme and training. Results Debbie Donoghue, premises manager at the Royal Latin School, said: “The safety of our pupils, staff and visitors is paramount and having the confidence that we have the highest-quality safety apparatus in the event of an emergency is crucial. Lifts should not be used in the event of a fire or other emergencies and, for some, this could cut off exits from our building. The school’s investment in installing 15 evacuation chairs will ensure a safe escape route for everyone. “The more people who are trained in using the Evac+Chair the better as this will minimise risk and improve accessibility. Regular servicing and ongoing maintenance provided by Evac+Chair ensures compliance with key legislation and will also ensure that the apparatus is kept in good working order. It is extremely reassuring to know that, should we require it, we have the necessary equipment and skills to potentially save lives.” To improve student, visitor and staff safety at your own facilities, call 0121 706 6744 if you’re interested in a free site survey from one of our specialist team. Evac Chair – Full Film with new logo 061017 (1) from Louise Monk on Vimeo.
A Level Results Day: “School leavers think apprenticeships are for underachievers”
As school leavers across England and Wales collect their A level results, it seems misconceptions remain regarding one of the most dynamic post-school career options available – apprenticeships. New research from Arch Apprentices has suggested that negative perceptions about apprenticeships are still rife among Britain’s exam students. Specifically among females, the supposed lack of academic credibility is still a worry, despite apprenticeships allowing many avenues for adding to qualifications and credentials. Similarly, among both male and female leavers, there is a belief that apprenticeships are only for manual jobs, such as brick-layers, electricians and plumbers. However, apprenticeship schemes have come a long way since with careers in media disciplines, IT and management among a wealth of opportunities currently on offer. Perhaps most surprising is the idea that apprenticeships are only for those who cannot afford to go to university, suggesting a lack of progression in talking to younger people about anything other than university being available as their next career step post A levels. With an overwhelming 89% of school leavers also admitting they would have some reservations about choosing an apprenticeship over university, worries also included not having a colourful social life (21%), being unable to secure a top job (28%) and not making their parents proud of them (19%). Jason Moss, CEO Arch Apprentices said, “Over the past 10 years, the change that apprenticeships have gone under has been drastic and incredibly exciting. From being traditionally associated with certain trades to now being at the heart of some of the UK’s largest media, digital and technology businesses, apprenticeships are no longer the second option for school leavers. For some companies, it’s the exclusive path for schools leavers to access their entry-level positions. “At Arch, we like to think we’ve been at the forefront of the change, with our digital-first approach to delivering apprenticeships. Our learners aren’t stuck in a classroom, focusing on just the theory, they are in real jobs, with real pay and are putting into practice all of their learning via our multi-touch learning tools and techniques. They have proven to be an invaluable asset for the companies they work for.” Case study: Alim Jalloh, 22 Alim started an apprenticeship with Channel 4 through Arch after starting a degree course and finding it wasn’t quite for him. He says, “I applied for university during college because that’s what you do at college – write a personal statement, apply for uni and start a degree. I wasn’t too confident about going to uni and when I got there, it wasn’t what I expected. I felt it wasn’t actually what I wanted to do.” So Alim started looking for his next step and saw a friend who was on an apprenticeship, working in the city, getting paid and doing lots of exciting on-the-job training. Alim adds, I started looking at the Government’s apprenticeship website and then found an apprenticeship with Arch which was exactly what I wanted to do – social media and marketing for a company I loved anyway, Channel 4.” Alim is on a 14-month apprenticeship and, in the future, would like to stay on with Channel 4 – although he has had two job offers from other companies while on the apprenticeship. He says, “That just shows how incredible apprenticeships are. More opportunities can present themselves while you’re working. Apprenticeships are ideal for people who are creative and want to work in digital, media, finance etc while getting paid.” For more information on apprenticeships, see archapprentices.co.uk
Lack of support around teacher mental health
The stigma around discussing mental health is still very much present, and the majority (80.3%) of education professionals agree that not enough is being done to support mental health at work. In fact, half (50.1%) have considered resigning from a job due to lack of support. That’s according to the latest data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site. The survey of 1,100 UK workers sought to explore the topic of mental-health in the workplace and how well employers support their staff. With 45.4% of education professionals revealing that aspects of their job can cause them to feel anxious or depressed, it’s clear that something must be done. When asked what measures employers can introduce to help support their staff, respondents said: Promote a healthy work-life balance – 32.9% Refer employees to a counselling service – 19.7% Create an environment where mental health is not stigmatised – 15.8% Have an internal counselling service for staff – 14.5% Allow them to take time out when they need to – 8% Furthermore, the majority (81.6%) of professionals in the education sector believe that employers should offer mental health days for staff, with 80.3% agreeing that they’d be more likely to work for a company that did. A staggering 92% also said that they believe that employers should be given training to help them understand mental health and how to help employees who may be suffering. Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments: “It’s concerning to learn that education professionals aren’t feeling supported by their employers when it comes to their mental health and it’s clear more needs to be done to tackle this. It’s a sad reality that mental health problems can affect all areas of life. But if you’re struggling to cope at work, it’s important that you don’t suffer in silence.” Worryingly, the majority (81.8%) of education professionals confessed that they would be too embarrassed to disclose information about the state of their mental health to their employer. What’s more, a huge 81% feel guilty for taking time off for mental health reasons. Biggins concludes: “From our data, it’s obvious that there is a deep-rooted stigma around talking about mental health, particularly at work. And it’s clear that education professionals are reluctant to take days off to look after their mental wellbeing. But the truth is, you wouldn’t feel bad leaving the office because of a migraine or stomach bug and your mental health shouldn’t be any different. “If you are comfortable enough with your boss, it’s important to let them know what’s going on. They may be able to offer you support in the way of counselling, reduced or flexible hours, or time off to recharge. If your employer is very unforgiving and you feel that you are not supported, it could be time to look for a better opportunity elsewhere, in a company where your wellbeing comes first.” For more tips on taking care of yourself, check out our guide on looking after your mental health in the workplace or search over 174,000 jobs today.
Eleven thousand volunteers go back to school to broaden students’ jobs horizons
More than eleven thousand former students across Britain have this year volunteered at their old state school in partnership with Future First, an education charity. By volunteering, these alumni have helped to broaden students’ jobs horizons and boost their aspirations for the future. Their contribution represents more than 20,000 hours of free volunteering time, an invaluable boost for state schools currently grappling with limited budgets. Future First has helped these state schools to tap into the time, talent, and resource of their former students, bringing them back to school to act as career role models for the next generation. 4,500 different employers have been represented as part of the initiative. And more than 110,000 young people have benefited. Future First’s work in more than a thousand state schools has been backed by celebrities including actors Julie Walters, Stephen Fry, Craig Parkinson and Jodie Prenger and the DJ Nick Grimshaw. Since 2009, the charity has worked with more than a thousand state schools from Plymouth to Glasgow enabling them to harness the skills of former students by building supportive networks of alumni volunteers around the school. Former students return to their old school, opening up new worlds of opportunities for current students, to act as career and education role models, mentors, governors, providers of work experience and much more. They help to equip the current generation of students with the soft skills they need to succeed in the world of work and to boost their confidence to achieve academically. Future First research shows alumni can transform students’ motivation by acting as relatable role models grounded in the community, showing current students that ‘people like me’ can succeed. Matt Lent, CEO of Future First said: “This is an astonishing number of volunteering hours and shows the willingness of former students to support current students at their old state schools. Students can’t be what they can’t see and it is vital that we equip them with a broad knowledge of available careers and give them the skills they need to achieve.” “Private schools have always understood the value of linking students past and present and now state schools are realising this too. Alumni are an untapped resource of talent and skills. It’s inspirational and very motivating for students to see that if someone who sat at the same desk as them has gone on to succeed, they can too.” Charlie Pullen, a PhD student who volunteered at his old school Varndean School in Brighton, said: “These students were having dedicated time to learn how to be confident. I wish I had had classes that taught me how to look someone in the eye and speak with assurance when I was their age.” For further information on Future First, click here contact Press Officer Sue Crabtree or call one of the Future First team on 0207 239 8933
Questions about teaching apprenticeships?
Qualified Schools has launched the new Teaching Apprenticeship Programme to help schools recruit and train new graduates. Here, programme director Neil Gamewell explains why the programme provides a simple, fee-free and paid route into teaching. How can the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme help alleviate the shortage of STEM teachers? There are a number of reasons for the persistence of recruitment and retention problems across the teaching profession, which occur most acutely in STEM subjects. Worryingly, a Public Accounts Committee Report, published in January 2018, found 67% of those surveyed cited workload as the barrier to teacher retention. There are significant and well documented issues around teacher pay, working conditions and workload – but the lack of ease by which graduates can enter the profession is a major issue too. The teaching profession over the years has made it way too difficult for schools to attract talented graduates. In my experience, existing routes to Qualified Teacher Status are seen as tortuous and unclear by many graduates. This issue is particularly acute for STEM subjects, where desperately needed high-skilled graduates are being tempted into other comparatively well-paid professions and industries. This puts the onus on the teaching profession to create the right environment for these graduates to pursue a career in teaching. In particular, it needs to highlight the accessibility of teaching roles. The Teaching Apprenticeship Programmes breaks this cycle by offering a simple to understand, fee-free and salaried route into teaching. After 9 months, graduates will achieve Qualified Teacher Status and within a year, have completed their End-Point Assessment to complete the apprenticeship. For this, they will receive a salary in line with the unqualified teacher pay scale. Through grant and apprenticeship levy funding, the cost-burden for schools is very small in comparison to other routes. Is the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme available all over the country? Are LA schools able to take part as well as free schools/academies? Yes, all schools across the country can take advantage of the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme. Access to grants may differ depending on the area or local authority, but access to apprenticeship levy funding is universal. Local authority maintained schools should speak with their local authority about accessing funding from their centralised levy account to train teachers. Following Damian Hinds’ announcement on QTS, how will the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme ensure high-quality candidates are recruited and retained? The Education Secretary’s recent speech on the issue of teaching apprenticeships and QTS was encouraging mainly because it explicitly recognised the challenges facing trainee teachers. His confirmation of Government support for teaching apprenticeships was also encouraging. With Government backing I believe that teaching apprenticeships could become the flagship apprenticeship of this generation. The Teaching Apprenticeship Programme only accepts graduates and the training is provided by a Department for Education approved Initial Teacher Training provider. Our principles are very much in line with the vision set out by Damian Hinds, namely to provide trainees with a clear structure and support in early career development. The core idea of simplifying the teacher training process and providing clarity for new recruits allows them to strip away the unneeded extras and focus on reaching QTS. The benefit for schools is that they can grow their own staff organically – they can pay graduates an unqualified teacher pay scale salary and develop them into the culture of their school. Are schools using their apprenticeship levy funds effectively? No, but the apprenticeship levy is still relatively new and many professions, not just teaching, are still getting to grips with the system and how to access funding. In my experience, school leaders often have a limited understanding of the apprenticeship levy, what it means for them, and how they can make the most of it. What should concern them most about this situation is that if the money is not spent each year, it disappears. Schools must plan to ensure they spend levy funds at the right time and on teachers, rather than lower skilled labour. If decisions are taken at the right time, many will be able to take advantage of grants as well as levy funding in order to minimise the costs of recruitment and training high quality candidates. We recognise that the teaching profession is currently under significant pressure, so the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme guides schools through the process of accessing levy funds, step-by-step. What advice do you have for people thinking of going into teaching, but are put off by the workload? Teaching is a challenging, but immensely rewarding profession. This should be embraced. The road to becoming a qualified teacher is shorter and simpler than it may often seem. If you are passionate about a topic or subject area, teaching is a profession that allows you to entertain these passions and grow them further. You get to work in an area that you enjoy and share your knowledge with others. Seeing young people learn and develop into young adults ready for the world of work and life is an enriching experience, one that is unmatched by most professions. There are stories in the media every day about workload pressures in teaching. The profession must grapple with this issue if it is to stand a chance of hiring great people, but such stories can also mispresent the very many positive aspects of teaching that go unreported. For more information about the Teaching Apprenticeship Programme please click here