A charity that attracts talented graduates into teaching but provides minimal training has confirmed its interest in launching in Scotland.
Teach First, which is well established in England and Wales, is planning a bid to provide a new route into teaching under Scottish government plans to raise attainment in schools.
The scheme has proved popular south of the border, bringing in more than 8,000 teachers since it launched in 2003. Recruits are typically sent into schools in deprived areas.
However, Teach First is deeply unpopular with the Scottish educational establishment, which claims that it would lead to a fall in standards.
The Educational Institute of Scotland, the country’s largest teaching union, has said that any process that could end with Teach First playing a role in Scottish education “will be opposed until it is defeated”.
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Those taking part in Teach First’s schemes train for as little as five weeks before taking classes. They are then given a combination of theoretical training and on-the-job experience over a two-year programme.
It is understood that a government proposal inviting outside organisations to propose new routes into teaching is due to be published by the end of this month. A trial of the model that is selected to get teachers into classrooms more quickly than is normal will be launched next year.
Teach First said that if it puts forward a bid, it will be a “bespoke model” delivered in partnership with universities. Reuben Moore, its director, said: “Teach First has long believed that a bespoke Scottish programme could be an additional response to tackling the achievement gap in Scotland.”