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Bad teachers will have to apply for new licence every five years
Tim Ross30.06.09
Thousands of incompetent teachers face being forced out of schools under plans to raise standards of state education, the Standard has learned.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls wants all teachers to apply for a new “licence to teach” every five years to prove they are still up to the job.
Government advisers have estimated that there are 17,000 failing teachers in England's state schools but only 10 have been struck off in eight years.
To obtain the new licence, staff will have to show they are continuing to receive professional training to keep skills up to date. Heads will recommend teachers for the licence and the system will be regulated by the General Teaching Council watchdog.
The plan comes in a new White Paper published by Mr Balls this afternoon, which promised parents and pupils legal “guarantees” of what they can expect from state education.
Pupils will have the right to a “clear say” over how their schools are run and individual tuition if they fall behind, while parents will receive online reports on their children's progress.
He said 100,000 tutors would be hired to provide individual catch-up classes for pupils falling behind in maths and English.
The promises come in Your Child, Your Schools, Our Future, aimed at parents. It is expected to be the last piece of major schools legislation before an election next year.
The plans include:
■ US-style “report cards” intended to replace league tables of exam results. They will rate schools on factors including parents' views, discipline, truancy and children's wellbeing.
■ Pupil and parent “guarantees”, including a school, college or apprenticeship place for every 16-year-old who wants one, catch-up classes for individuals or small groups, and a personal tutor to act as a single point of contact for parents at secondary school.
■ New “branded” chains of schools run by “executive headteachers” who could be paid up to £200,000.
■ Scrapping the Government's National Strategies for literacy and numeracy in primary schools to give teachers more freedom to devise their own lessons.
■ Forcing parents to take responsibility for their children's behaviour in school by threatening them with court action.
Speaking on GMTV, Mr Balls told parents: “Whether your child is academic and wants to go to university, or more practical, we will make sure the school gives them qualifications to do well.”
Mr Balls said Labour's promise to continue to spend on schools was viable.
But heads warned that the new legal guarantees could open the door to schools being sued by disgruntled parents. John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told the Standard: “I'm extremely worried. This adds a law which could potentially lead to great difficulties between parents and schools.”
Mr Balls admitted some education programmes would face funding cuts to create 55,000 new school and college places over the next two years.
Reader views (8)
The problem with the teaching profession is that it is stuffed full of people who have never had any life experience outside of the classroom, but satisfy this stinking government's politically correct profiling.
Our state schools swapped education for indoctrination years ago.
It is the mission of every dyed in the wool socialist to create a society that is entirely dependent upon the state for everything, thus giving the government trough-snouters absolute and perpetual power.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
What a load of balony.
- C Cusano, Bedford
"The Government's own advisers estimated THERE ARE 17,000 FAILING TEACHERS inn England's state schools BUT ONLY 10 HAVE BEEN STRUCK OFF in eight years".
Another rip roaring success, well done Labour. In 12 years you have achieved NOTHING of any lasting value in education.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, Hants
I am going to make its my life work to leave this country, my husband was made redundant from BP in his forties he spent night have night studying for a Bed which he obtained in 1987 he has worked with all sorts of children who love him and hes worked hard to keep working with children that need encouraging and now they want him to apply for a Licence please god send us someone with some sense.
- Pauline Thomas, Surbiton , surrey
I cannot think of anything that would make me vote for Labour now. They have made so many dismal mistakes and leave the country in a mess when the likes of Kinnock and Blair line their pockets as fast as they can. It is saidi of Brown that he is not interested in money for himself but he sure knows how to squander other peoples. As for Balls one only has to look at his and his wife's expenses to see that he expects to enrich himself at the taxpayers' expense.
- William, London
Why can't we simply return to the old system of Grammar and Secondary Modern Schools. THis sorted the wheat from the chaffe and ensured a high standard of education for the bright but poorer children who are being failed.
- Jane Bewick, London
At the same time that this is all being promised, the schools have been told to introduce non-qualified people (Cover Supervisors) to deal with teacher absence and cut costs and leaving the possibility that students aren’t going to see a qualified teacher for a number of days at a time. This government gives with one hand a takes with the other.
- Bob, London
There is nothing here that wasn't promised in 1997 and still it hasn't been delivered.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
