'Raise bar' on teacher training entry requirements, say MPs

In its report into teacher training, the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee said only graduates who have achieved a 2:2 in a relevant degree course should be considered for PGCE courses.

The report states: "Having examined the level of entry qualifications that trainees bring to both under- and postgraduate initial teacher training programmes, we are clear that the bar must be raised across the board. It is of great concern to us that those with no A-levels, or those with just a pass degree, can gain entry."

The committee also recommended that trainee teachers don’t become fully registered with the General Teaching Council until they complete their induction year.

Also, according to the MPs, a minimum percentage of schools’ overall budgets should be allocated to ensure a culture of professional development becomes entrenched within the schools workforce.

In response to the report, schools minister Vernon Coaker said: "Over 90 per cent of people started training last year with a 2.2 or better UK degree – two-thirds of them getting a 2.1 or better.

"But setting an arbitrary threshold would mean talented people, such as the maths expert Carol Vorderman, would be barred from teaching even if they have the right skills and aptitude to do a great job in the classroom."

He said proposals for a licence to practise for teachers, set out in the Children, Schools and Families Bill and supported by the committee, would put teaching on the same footing as high-status professions like doctors and lawyers.