Call to raise profile of teaching

Increasing salaries and reducing paperwork would help to improve the profile of jobs in education, according to one teaching body.

Chair of the National Primary Headteachers Association Peter Price said: "If we can lower bureaucracy and increase pay, everybody would be happier."

Mr Price added that time spent with children is the most effective use of teaching staff and that "bureaucracy does put people off".

However, Mr Price accepted that any significant change to working conditions would be a "big ask".

His comments follow a report released by think-tank Politeia, which suggests that entry standards for teaching are pitched lower than in other European countries.

The report highlighted the qualifications required of primary school staff who need GCSEs in Maths and English in order to secure a teaching position.

By contrast, teachers outside the UK generally have to cover the full range of subjects to A-level standard, it added.





Published On 29/07/2009