Today’s Education in the Media blog looks at our new T Level campaign as well as our announcement over the weekend on our new teacher bursaries package.
T Level Campaign
Today, Monday 7 October, sees the launch of our national T Level campaign to raise awareness among young people, parents and employers of the benefits of the new high-quality technical qualifications being introduced in September 2020. The new advert will run across on-demand television as well as posters and social media alongside our new website.
To coincide we are also publishing the latest T Level Action Plan, which confirms the final 15 T Level pathways to be taught in 2022 and 2023 and the criteria for schools and colleges to provide T Levels from 2022.
Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said:
T Levels are a complete game changer – high-quality technical courses that will give young people a head start in their careers and that will rival top performing technical education systems like those offered in Germany.
With less than a year to go before the first T Levels are taught, we want to make sure young people and their parents know all about the brilliant opportunities these new qualifications will offer. Our new campaign will help make sure they have all the info they need.
I’m also pleased to confirm the details of the final 15 T Levels that will be taught from 2022 and 2023, in vital sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and legal, which completes the suite of 25 new courses that will be rolled out over the next four years.
Teacher Bursaries
On Saturday 5 October, we announced the package of financial incentives for initial teacher training (ITT) courses taking place in academic year 2020/21. This was covered by the Guardian, the Mail, the Times, the Sun, the Independent and Schools Week.
This year phased bursaries will be rolled out for trainees in Chemistry, Modern Foreign Languages and Physics as well as Maths. This means that from 2020/21, trainee teachers in these subjects will receive £26,000 during training, with an additional £6,000 to be paid across the first four years of their career. For those working in high need areas, these additional payments will rise to £9,000. New £9,000 bursaries for art and design and business studies are also set to be introduced.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
The inspirational role of a talented, dedicated and committed teacher can never be understated and is the one constant that all of us can remember from our time at school.
I want both the brightest and the best talent to be drawn to the teaching profession and for schools to compete with the biggest employers in the labour market.
The bursaries we are announcing today, along with the 2.75% pay rise for all teachers and school leaders this academic year, will do just that, while ensuring that those who stay in the classroom will benefit most.
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