Bursary offer of £20k to tackle teacher shortage
Political Correspondent PEOPLE who want to change careers and go into teaching will qualify for a £20,000 bursary to encourage more into the profession to tackle a staffing shortage.
Education secretary John Swinney announced at the SNP conference in Glasgow the funding for “career-changers” in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths.
Mr Swinney said he understood that giving up a salary to train as a teacher for a year was a barrier to re-training.
Mr Swinney said Nicola Sturgeon set a “hard task” in closing the attainment gap and there were challenges around literacy and numeracy but reforms were making a difference.
He said: “We have made a strong start down the road to improving our schools. And we have founded our reforms on faith in our teachers.”
However, he added there was a shortage of teachers in certain subjects.
Mr Swinney said: “We have taken a range of actions to help councils tackle that problem and today I want to go further.
“STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths – are crucial, not just to the education of our children but the future of our economy.
“We need to recruit more teachers in these subjects. And to do that, we need to reach beyond recent graduates and attract people who have the appropriate subject degree but are working in business or industry.”
The Education Secretary said career changers still had to go through the same teacher training as he wouldn’t compromise on quality. But he said it would be made easier and announced that from next year there would be a £20,000 bursary for STEM subjects.
Applicants will be expected to have a relevant degree at a level of 2.1 or above with suitable subject content. Minimum entry requirements for teacher education courses will also apply.
Mr Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, also used his speech to attack the Tories and Labour.
He said: “Take a look across the political landscape. The Tory leadership is in turmoil.
“The Labour leadership are at each other’s throats.”
He criticised the Conservatives over remarks by councillors who have not been expelled from the party
Mr Swinney added: “The Prime Minister said something this week that I actually agree with. In her conference speech she said: “Racism, intolerance and hatred has no place in British politics or British society”.
“I agree unreservedly with the Prime Minister. The thing is though, as we sit here today, racist and xenophobic councillors are still members of the Scottish Tory Party. So she doesn’t need to tell us. She needs to tell Ruth Davidson.”
Mr Swinney received a huge cheer from the conference hall in the SEC armadillo when he said what the focus of the SNP was.
He said: “As we gather today, as we reflect on 10 years of SNP Government, as we consider an intense period of political activity, what is the focus of the SNP?
“We meet today to rededicate ourselves to the cause of Scotland.
“We rededicate ourselves to Independence,the best possible future for Scotland.” THE SNP conference has voted to campaign on a ban on recruiting 16 and 17-year-olds to the military.
The SNP Youth Branch argued that joining up under 18 increases the risk of death in combat, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.
It was proposed that the minimum age for all roles that require combat training should be raised to 18.
Glasgow councillor Rhiannan Spear spoke in favour of the age rise.
She said: “The UK is currently the only EU and NATO country that recruits at 16,” adding that 15 year olds could be recruited in advance.
Ms Spear said that the MoD was deliberately targeting young people in low income households.
She added the army was using social media to target young people during school exam results time
She added: “They are preying on 15, 16 and 17 year-olds at their most vulnerable time.”
The bid was opposed by the SNP’s defence spokesman at Westminster Stewart McDonald, Glasgow South MP.
He said he had considered joining up at 17 after leaving school in Glasgow with one higher.
He said: “For me as a 17-year-old that was my decision it wasn’t anyone else’s.”
He said young people can marry pay tax and vote aged 16.
Mr McDonald added he was not defending the practices of the MoD which he described as the “belly of the beast of Westminster”.
He said the motion was narrow and ignored the issues facing people in the military and veterans today, like pay, equipment and housing.
Ms Monaghan, a former teacher, said raising the age would deny opportunities to some young people they would not otherwise have.
She told of a former pupil who joined up and who told her later if he hadn’t joined the army he was heading for Barlinnie.