Teachers (Hansard, 9 January 1992)

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, there is no overall shortage of teachers, though there are some shortages centred on certain subjects and geographical areas. The Government have supported over £74 million in expenditure since 1986 on a wide range of measures to combat teacher shortage, and a further £72 million is already earmarked to continue and extend these. Those measures are working. The number of vacancies in 1991 fell by 20 per cent., and recruitment to teacher training rose by 21 per cent., which is the highest increase since 1976.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, do the Government accept the important point made in a recent study carried out by Manchester University—a study, incidentally, commissioned by the Department of Education and Science—that teachers are being appointed who are inadequately qualified, especially in the sciences, in mathematics and in modern languages? Is that not disguising shortages in vitally important subjects? Of course, this is not a new problem. One would have thought that after 13 years in power the Government would have done something about the matter. However, is not the fact that the Government are highlighting the matter showing just how important it is?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I do not accept those remarks. However, I can say that teacher recruitment in those shortage subjects is on the increase. I can also say that in the particular subjects which he mentioned—namely, maths and science—90 per cent. of children are in fact being tutored in those subjects by teachers who are appropriately qualified; in other words, that means that they do have post-A-level qualifications in the subject.

§ Lord Campbell of Alloway
My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister say what is, broadly speaking, the position on the well-known desperate 1561 shortage of qualified teachers to teach not only dyslexic children but also the teachers who teach those children? Is she aware that I have recently received correspondence on that subject from teachers?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, my noble friend asks an interesting question about the quality of teaching in a particular aspect of education. I can say that in-service training, especially for children with reading-learning difficulties, is seriously being addressed. Of course, teacher training itself is being changed in order to ensure that that particular aspect of learning is addressed.

§ Lord Stallard
My Lords, in replying to my noble friend, has the noble Baroness considered the effect on the teacher shortage of the proposals about which we have recently read in relation to teaching youngsters, aged seven and onwards, who have reading difficulties? I understand that a new project has been embraced by the Secretary of State and others. Indeed, a great speech was made about it and about how good it will be. However, it will mean teaching tutors to teach teachers before they in turn can teach this new method which has been imported from New Zealand to the children.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, quality does not pose a difficulty. It is absolutely essential that the standards of entry into teaching remain high and are not altered at all by the different measures that have been put into place. It is not only important that the entry into teaching should be of a high standard but also that the training received by future teachers should be of a high standard.

§ Lord Stallard
My Lords, from what has been said for one second I believed that we were talking about a one-to-one situation. That must, of necessity, increase the number of persons required to perform that function. Has that matter been taken into account?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, perhaps the noble Lord is referring to the most recent proposals on the teaching of reading. He will also know that a large sum of money has been allocated to make sure that the new measure that is being put in place is properly delivered.

§ Lord Thurlow
My Lords, has any progress been made in the vitally important sector of foreign languages?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, as regards modern languages, recruitment is much more buoyant than it was. In the past 12 months recruitment for modern language teaching was 35 per cent. up on that of the previous year.

§ Lord Strabolgi
My Lords, in view of what has been said on this matter, will the Government do something rather more positive about the teaching of foreign languages with the aim of starting to teach them at the primary level in the public sector, as is the case in most other Western European countries? Will the Government do something about the central funding of foreign language assistants so they may be recruited 1562 from the Continent to alleviate the shortage of teachers here? Will the Government also do something to encourage married former teachers to return to teaching after their families have grown up?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I am not unsympathetic to the point made by the noble Lord. However, this Government have done a great deal to put this country in a position to respond to these problems eventually as all children in secondary schools will learn a minimum of one language. Therefore, young people leaving our schools will have received a better training in languages. That will mean more young people will study languages in higher education and more young people will be able to teach languages in schools. The first step is to improve the teaching of languages and in that way we shall increase the number of people who are trained to teach younger children. Is it the policy of the noble Lord's party to take such measures when and if that party enters office?

§ Lord Strabolgi
My Lords, I am not aware of the policy of my party in that regard. However, is the noble Baroness aware that I am a member of the Franco-British Council and the policy I have outlined is the policy of that council?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I was not aware of that fact and I am pleased to hear it. I am sympathetic to the original point the noble Lord made as I believe children are receptive to learning languages at a much younger age than is the case at present.

§ Lord Monkswell
My Lords, bearing in mind the text of the Question on the Order Paper, does the Minister agree that one of the reasons for the shortage of teachers is that teachers have left the profession prematurely for three reasons? First, they have received excessive criticism from the Government. Secondly, the Government have imposed an enormous amount of change on the education and teaching professions over the past few years. Thirdly, the remuneration of teachers is not adequate. What steps are the Government prepared to take to deal with those three specific points?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I disagree profoundly with what the noble Lord said. I shall illustrate what measures the Government have taken. Teaching as a career unit (TASC) has been established. A major national advertising campaign has been established. Last year more than 40,000 people responded to that campaign and 40,000 have responded this year. We have made grants available to help former teachers and mature students return to teaching. We have established initial teacher training bursaries for shortage subjects. Some 7,000 young students have been funded this year. We have established flexible ways into teaching; for example, we have set up a licensed teacher scheme and an articled teacher scheme to which there is a buoyant response.
We have established teaching tasters for people changing career. In 1991 some 55 courses were established. Some 49 per cent. of those attending those courses have either entered teaching or plan to enter 1563 teaching. We have increased in-service training for teachers in shortage subjects by allocating £76 million in 1991–92. An additional £85 million has been set aside for 1992–93. We have funded the Open University by £2.3 million to develop distance learning for postgraduate courses. We have provided work experience for students and recent graduates who work for four weeks in September and are paid £100 a week. That experience enables them to decide whether or not they wish to enter teaching. We have addressed the issue of pay and we have set up a review body. The Government are not complacent. We are concerned about this matter and we have done a great deal to make sure that our young people are taught by the best qualified teachers.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, I wish to pursue the matter of language teaching. Is the Minister aware that a report issued by the Labour Party last year found that 87 per cent. of the LEAs who responded to the report stated they had difficulties in recruiting language teachers? Is that not a bad forecast for our prospects in the single market? However much recruitment may have increased this year, it will take a long time before those who are now being recruited enter the schools. It is important to do something now.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, there have, of course, been some difficulties in the recruitment of language teachers. However, we have done a great deal in this area. Recruitment is up by 35 per cent. We must not scoff at that achievement. We want recruitment to continue to increase. This Government have put languages at the forefront of the national curriculum to make sure all our children learn a language. That will provide a much more buoyant and healthy supply of young people who are competent to teach languages.

§ Baroness David
My Lords, it is all very well having modern languages in the national curriculum, but they cannot be taught if there are insufficient people to teach the languages.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, young people in our schools are receiving language tuition. We shall continue to try to increase the number of language teachers and we shall continue to make sure that future language teachers are better qualified. In the meantime, it would be quite wrong to remove modern languages from the curriculum just because there may be teacher shortages in some areas.

§ Baroness Seear
My Lords, does the Minister believe there would be more language teachers if the Labour Party had tackled that issue more effectively when it was in power?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I was hesitant to refer to that matter on the first day after the Recess. Nevertheless, the noble Baroness is absolutely right. How would the Labour Party tackle the issue?

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, is the Minister aware that I have been made to feel guilty for tabling this Question as I have been told that 1564 everything is perfect? Does the Minister accept a finding of a survey on teacher shortages carried out by six unions—issued as recently as November of last year—which stated that the most common vacancies occur in infants schools and in the junior classes of primary schools? Those vacancies account for 44 per cent. of all vacancies in primary and secondary schools. That represents a vital stage in children's education. What are the Government doing about that?

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I do not agree with those remarks. The case is much exaggerated. The take-up for initial teacher training for primary education is up by 13.5 per cent. It has also increased for secondary school teachers. The trend for recruitment is upwards. All the measures we have put in place are designed to improve that position. I wish to place on record the fact that everything is not perfect. I began my initial reply by stating that there were some problems. Nevertheless, I believe I have given a good account of this Government's attempts to address the problems. I have shown that the measures that have been put in place are working.