Schools are facing a teacher shortage crisis because of failings in the government’s School Direct training programme, it has been claimed.
Two reports published in the past fortnight have cast serious doubt on the efficacy of the system, which has seen responsibility for teacher training shift from higher education institutions to schools.
One study, carried out by Professor John Howson, a leading expert in teacher recruitment, and Chris Waterman, an education policy analyst, found that the shortage could become apparent from September 2014, leading to more pupils being taught by non-subject specialists and increased competition between schools for the best graduates.
The problem has arisen, they claim, because the Department for Education (DfE) is not tracking how many places are being left unfilled by schools that are enrolled on the School Direct programme.
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