Responding to the Government’s announcement of plans to introduce a new 6 month PGCE course for professionals wishing to retrain to teach, Brett Wigdortz, Founder and CEO of educational charity Teach First said:

“At Teach First, we believe that excellent teaching and leadership are central to tackling educational disadvantage, and we welcome good innovations that encourage additional high-quality individuals into the classroom.

It is critical that any person entering the teaching profession is given structured training and support. At Teach First, this means support, guidance and assessment for participants over two years, which we provide in partnership with 15 Higher Education partners, business schools, 148 challenged schools and numerous other corporate and not-for-profit partners.

Following a six week intensive initial teacher training course, teachers training through the Teach First programme work towards achieving Qualified Teacher Status at the end of their first year, supported by tutors from our partner universities and mentors in schools. After another year of continuing professional development and participation in leadership development training, teachers are awarded NQT and Teach First Ambassador status.

Teach First is also a highly selective programme. We only accept onto the scheme graduates who can show high levels of competency in areas such as leadership, resilience, self-evaluation, communication, and problem solving, as well as a good academic background. Last year only about a quarter of applicants to Teach First were accepted onto the programme.

OfSTED has commended Teach First for producing some of ‘the most exceptional trainees produced by any teacher training route’. We will be delighted to share our learnings from the ongoing development of our programme to ensure that any new entry routes also produce teachers capable of making maximum impact in the classroom.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. Teach First’s mission is to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields. Teach First targets high calibre students who would not normally consider a career in teaching and places them in challenged schools – where more than a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals – for the course of the two year placement.
2. Teach First recruits, trains and supports its recruits as teachers and long-term leaders. Recruits to the programme begin their intensive training with a three week programme run by universities in their respective location (London, the North West, the Midlands and, from 2009, Yorkshire). The recruits then all join up together for a further three weeks at Canterbury Christ Church University. This sets them on the path to achieving the award of Qualified Teacher Status by the end of the first year.
3. All teachers attend additional leadership training with partners including Imperial Business School and Manchester Business School. School placements last two years, at which point participants can continue teaching or pursue another career.
4. Teach First is an independent charity, Reg. No. 1098294, established in 2002. It is supported by all the main political parties, teaching unions, graduate organisations and over eighty leading employers. In 2008, Teach First gained 9^th place on the coveted league of Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.