Professor Peter Finn, KSG responds to a news headline on the supply of teachers arising from the Skills Barometer Report 2019:

“As this report refers to forecasts for the local economy only, it’s conclusion on projected supply of newly qualified teachers is highly nuanced.

Teaching is nowadays no different from numerous other professional development programmes at university, in an increasingly globalised economy. Many graduate teachers choose to seek employment elsewhere in the United Kingdom or in European Union countries, as well as in international schools all over the world, where pay and conditions are better than in the local economy.

Furthermore, the report has no regard for a future needs analysis in relation to the local school system where class sizes are increasing and Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision is under-resourced. These factors point to a long-term requirement for more teachers locally if educational underachievement is to be tackled effectively.

The bottom line for St Mary’s is that consistently 97% of our graduates in teacher education are working in the profession six months after completing their BEd degree or PGCE programme. Therefore places on teacher education courses at the College are still highly sought after.”