‘THREE RS’ SHAME OF SCOTLAND’S TEACHERS
MSPs call for probe into soaring number of trainees who can’t read or write properly TRAINEE teachers who cannot read or write properly are fuelling Scotland’s educational decline, MSPs warn.
A damning report by an influential Holyrood committee has demanded an investigation into teacher training courses. MSPs said some of the training was ‘lacking’ after trainees themselves criticised the tuition they receive in the ‘three Rs’ at a time when classrooms are in the grip of a literacy and numeracy crisis.
The broadside comes after MSPs heard evidence that some new staff have such poor numeracy skills that they are unable to teach maths to primary school pupils.
The report also warned of the danger of a mass exodus from the profession as crippling staff shortages hit morale. It further criticised key SNP schools quangos for being out of touch.
Last night, Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said urgent changes were needed.
She warned: ‘Failure to do so will damage not only the prospects of a generation of children but also harm Scotland’s economy in the
long term.’ The Scottish parliament’s education and skills committee investigated teacher training and shortages in a wide-ranging inquiry.
Its report follows figures earlier this week that showed there are nearly 700 teacher vacancies in Scottish schools.
The MSPs said: ‘Having teachers that understand, and are able to teach, the core skills of literacy and numeracy to children in their formative years is an absolutely fundamental requirement in improving attainment in literacy and numeracy.’
The report said committee members are ‘concerned that the baseline of quality in relation to course content, and student ability, may be lacking in some instances’.
The committee recommends an ‘investigation into the extent of the problems raised in relation to literacy and numeracy’.
This should include an ‘assessment of the entry requirements for these courses and the standards achieved on qualification’.
Concern has been growing for several years over trainee teachers’ grasp of basic English and maths. Then Skills Minister Angela Constance admitted in 2011 that a shake-up was needed to
‘Baseline of quality may be lacking’
‘ensure that the right people enter initial teacher education’.
During the committee’s inquiry, the NASUWT teaching union suggested 62 per cent of teachers in their membership survey were ‘considering leaving the profession altogether’.
The committee now intends to issue a survey to all teachers through education authorities. It said: ‘The intention of this is to get a clearer indication of the extent of the issue with retention.’
The MSPs also launched an attack on controversial SNP quangos Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
After hearing from more than 650 teachers and trainees, the committee called for Education Scotland and the SQA to go ‘back to the classroom’ and undergo short placements ‘shadowing’ staff to gain experience in the reality of teaching.
Committee convener James Dornan, a Nationalist MSP, said: ‘When we asked teachers for their thoughts on the profession, what was clear from the start was the dedication and passion of those who had chosen teaching as a career.
‘But what was also clear was for many hard-working teachers there are concerns about the profession they love.’
Last night, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, accused the committee of a ‘trivial’ response to some concerns.
He said: ‘The notion of practical placements in schools for SQA and Education Scotland staff may appear to have a superficial attraction but it is a shallow and somewhat trivial response to concerns about teacher workload and certainly no substitute for ensuring that teachers are able to exercise professional control over their working environment.’
The committee has made more than 30 recommendations to combat teacher shortfalls.
These include calling on the Scottish Government to review its practice of increasing trainee places to improve recruitment levels, as it fails to address issues such as pay.
It also recommends offering financial incentives for staff from elsewhere in the UK to move to rural Scotland to deal with areas of ‘acute shortages’. Education Secretary John Swinney said: ‘I will study carefully the recommendations in this report, and I welcome its endorsement of the action this government is taking to make a career in teaching more attractive and create innovative routes into the profession.
‘Investment by this government has directly resulted in 253 more teachers last year and this week I announced the expansion of our teacher recruitment campaign.’