At first glance it might seem like a great solution. Lots of redundant city high-flyers looking for teaching jobs; lots of teaching vacancies. Why not speed up the course and get them into those empty classrooms as quickly as possible? After all they are intelligent, capable and fast learners.
First, according to the NUT, nearly a third of all Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) leave by the end of their first year, an astonishing attrition rate. If so many leave so soon, clearly the current one-year course does not prepare them for the realities of classroom life.
Second, what will be left out of the streamlined course? Probably teaching practice - the one thing that can't be taught in a theory class. The less time trainee teachers spend in the classroom, the less familiar they are going to be with children and the more likely that they drop out, particularly those who are moving industries.
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