Teach First to target young professionals to retrain as teachers

Young professionals will be targeted to retrain as teachers in some of the UK’s toughest schools as part of a new recruitment drive from Teach First.

The drive comes amidst the worsening teacher recruitment crisis and will target professionals such as lawyers, police staff and office workers to switch careers.

Teach First is facing increased demand for teachers, with 54 per cent in of school leaders in poor areas saying recruitment issues were a major barrier to improving pupil’s performance. This is especially true for priority subjects such as science and maths.

Last year one in five of the Teach First cohort were professionals who changed career to become a teacher, and the charity hopes to improve in this number with the new recruitment drive starting on 18 January.

James Westhead, Teach First executive director, said: “By bringing your tried-and-tested knowledge and skills to teaching, you can make a real difference to young people’s lives. There aren’t many careers where no two days are the same. In teaching you get to pass on your love of a subject, innovate and lead in your own classroom every day.”