The debate on teaching qualifications took a stale turn yesterday as Tristram Hunt was given a grilling by Jeremy Paxman, Paxman demanding to know if Hunt would send his children to a School where the teachers were unqualified, and Hunt responding with a claim he would send his children to a School where the teachers have the best qualifications possible. It was a dispiriting spat, and inevitably neither man walked away appearing to be any wiser or better educated. In the background we had seen a piece where a teacher at Brighton College who was well qualified in his subject matter, explained why he had not taken the time to gain a formal teaching qualification, yet he and the head were clearly satisfied that he was doing a stirling job educating the £20,000 a year students. What I missed from the interview (it may have been my own lack of attention) was the information that Richard Cairns, the head of Brighton College is himself not a qualified teacher. That was revealed by Michael Gove yesterday in Parliament.

When we return from this weeks half term holiday, it is vital that parents and pupils have confidence in the education that they are receiving in their School and that all those who are responsible for checking the standards are able to make good judgements, based on a number of factors. The skill and education of the teachers need to be one factor that is considered and as a general rule it is not unreasonable to expect that the teachers who face our children have been trained and qualified in both their subject area and in the process and technique of educating people of the age concerned. When I was last in full time education, there were three types of people training as teachers (I am generalising). Those who finished their A Levels and decided that teaching was their future who studied education as the major part of their studies, those who studied a subject that they were passionate about and subsequently felt that the best way of furthering this subject was to teach it and finally a group of subject specialists who for various reasons did not want to ply their trade and believed that teaching might be an easy option. Even then, at the beginning of the 1980’s it was clear that teaching demanded a minimum level of qualifications. Thankfully the one year Post Graduate Certificate of Education was robust enough to deter all but the most persistent of those who felt that teaching was an easy option. All this took place before Higher Education led to students having to pay fees or rack up debts at the level of current undergraduates.

Speaking as a parent, albeit one whose children have grown up, I would expect all Schools and educational organisations to employ the best teachers available to fill any vacancies. In most cases I would expect this to include a qualification at an appropriate level in teaching. Whilst I would hope they would be well versed in the subject being taught, I would always prefer someone to be an excellent teacher, than necessarily be a subject expert. This in part reflects my experiences of speaking to a few teachers who take the view that their work would be easier, if only they could get on with their subject. However these are rare examples. Most of all I expect that people who want to teach, to be capable of learning, and proficient in it, people who demonstrate this by their attitude. This shouldn’t end in the classroom, it should extend to those who administer our Schools  and include the governors and unqualified heads such as Richard Cairns at Brighton College. Finally but not least I expect those who set our educational policy to know their subject and demonstrate that they too believe that learning is something that is vital. I know that neither Michael Gove, nor Tristram Hunt have any qualifications in education. Having listened to both men I don’t get the sense that they believe in learning. This may be a matter of style, rather than their true nature, both men have certainly gained lots of qualifications. However leadership in my book is about demonstrating what you say you are about, not just about making tough decisions.

I suspect that the debate about qualifications for teachers will in small ways outwork itself in every school where the pupils feel empowered to bring challenge and ask questions. The teachers concerned will answer questions in their own way. We know that Gove and Hunt both lack any formal teaching qualifications between them, although Hunt does have a modest amount of  practical experience. What we need to see is a demonstration by both men that they are willing to learn from others. That will demand a great deal from them both, but if they are not prepared for that challenge, they have no place attempting to set policies for others to follow!