More schools hiring unqualified teachers 'to save money'

Chris Keates, the NASUWT general secretary, said the
increasing use of unqualified teachers was 'part of the
 wider strategy to depress costs to encourage more private
 providers to take over schools'. (David Sillitoe, Guardian)

England: Schools across the country are increasingly hiring unqualified teachers to save money, it was claimed on Sunday.

The majority (59%) of teachers in a poll of 2,300 said unqualified colleagues took lessons, prepared pupils for exams and assessed students' progress.

Last year, Michael Gove, the education secretary, allowed academies and free schools to hire unqualified staff, as private schools do. He plans to extend this to other state schools.

Earlier this month, the Observer revealed that the headteacher of a new primary free school in central London only started her teacher training after her appointment. Annaliese Briggs, a former thinktank director who advised the coalition on education reform, will be the head of Pimlico primary in Westminster from September.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said independent schools, academies and free schools could hire "brilliant people who did not have Qualified Teacher Status". This enabled them to take on great linguists, computer scientists, engineers and others who had not worked in state schools before. She said this enabled these schools to "improve faster and gives head teachers the freedom to hire the person best suited to their school".

- Guardian.co.uk