Tuesday 18 August 2020
The Committee for Education, Sport & Culture is re-starting teacher training in Guernsey, and it is hoped that for the first time teachers trained on-island will also be qualified to teach in the UK.
The initial cohort of trainees will be six learning support assistants, who wish to become teachers. LSAs currently working in local primary and secondary schools will be eligible to apply, and successful applicants will be offered fully-funded trainee teacher positions.
The course will allow them to complete the practical and theoretical requirements to qualify as a teacher.
The training programme will commence in the Autumn in partnership with Middlesex University. In future years the Committee hopes to expand the scheme to all graduates who wish to become teachers.
The University already has a partnership with the island through the Institute of Health & Social Care Studies, which is now part of The Guernsey Institute.
Dr Tracey McClean, Head of the Institute of Health & Social Care Studies and Executive Director at The Guernsey Institute, said:
"Middlesex University will be supporting the assessment components of the programme to ensure the trainee teachers fully meet the expectations of the teachers' standards which are set by the UK Department for Education. This partnership is an exciting initiative which reinstates a career pathway for talented and experienced support staff who have a desire to teach."
Deputy Matt Fallaize, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said:
"Learning support assistants play a crucial role in our schools. The Committee is delighted to announce this new teacher training scheme which initially will support six learning support assistants to have the exciting opportunity to train as teachers. Guernsey is fortunate to already have a strong link with Middlesex University through The Guernsey Institute and this relationship has allowed us to set up this programme. If the initial scheme is a success, we hope to offer on-island teacher to a greater number of learning support assistants and others who wish to become teachers in the future.
"When the Committee was elected we were advised that a previous arrangement which allowed people to train to become teachers on-island was being discontinued. The Committee asked officials to find ways of re-starting the scheme at the earliest opportunity and we are delighted a new scheme is about to commence. The previous scheme allowed people to train as teachers but the qualification was not recognised outside of Guernsey, whereas this will be recognised in the UK, offering a strong advantage to applicants."
