Maths Teacher Degree Apprenticeship – dumbing down the profession or a crucial supply route for schools?

Next year will see the beginning of a new route into mathematics teaching for those that do not currently have an undergraduate degree – the Secondary Mathematics Teacher Degree Apprenticeship. It involves candidates being employed by a school as an unqualified teacher, but completing a four-year apprenticeship whilst at work resulting in the awarding of a Bachelors degree in “Mathematics and Secondary Mathematics Education”, along with Qualified Teacher Status. The apprentices typically start off spending less time in school and more time studying (which could be face-to-face or online learning delivered by the apprenticeship course provider), with the balance of this shifting more towards the school-based work the further into the course they go.

When the scheme was first announced, I was (to put it lightly) sceptical of it. I am fully committed to teaching remaining a high-value graduate profession, and this looked like an attempt by the government of the day to de-value the teaching profession by allowing entrants that weren’t graduates. However, following the release of more details from the providers about what the course would entail I thought it would be worth another look at the scheme. 

A practical solution to chronic shortages

On the surface there are several positive factors for both schools and applicants. Larger schools/trusts can fund candidates through the apprenticeship levy, which they would have to pay into anyway. Candidates receive a salary from their school which, whilst not matching the ITE bursary for trainee secondary maths teachers, does result in a huge net gain for apprentices once the cost of tuition fees for a Bachelors Degree and ITE year are taken into account. For those already working in schools who can’t afford to take three years off to study for a degree, or who don’t have the hours to study for a degree part-time , this could be the only route they can take into teaching secondary mathematics.

It isn’t like we don’t need maths teachers in schools! Both the current and previous government have fallen short of their target recruitment for maths teachers, with only 63% of the stated target recruited for 2023/24, and  73% for 2024/2025. Bear in mind as well that not all of those that are recruited stay on and complete their ITE year. 

In addition, a recent Twinkl Leaders Digest article highlighted the disparity between the number of qualified maths teachers at schools in more affluent locations compared to more disadvantaged areas. It is fair to say that we definitely do need to be encouraging more people into the mathematics classroom, and if those with maths or maths-related degrees aren’t interested in filling that void, this apprenticeship may be a source of people who are.

Quality as well as quantity?

Questions remain regarding whether apprentices will graduate with the skills to perform in the role. Will they have the mathematics background necessary to teach in our schools and colleges? – Or possess enough of a grounding in the subject to understand the journey that different mathematical ideas take as they progress from the primary school foundations to the degree-level heights? Well, signs here are positive.

In the programme run by the Institute of Education, there are some really heavy maths modules, including elements of Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Statistical Methods, alongside good modules for teaching mathematics such as the History of Mathematics and Critical Perspectives on Mathematics Learning. 

Whilst not necessarily comprehensive (I would love to see some Number Theory and Combinatorics in there), there is certainly enough in the course for teacher apprentices to be able to signpost future developments in mathematics that their learners at all levels might progress on to. I am still concerned about the time apprentices will have to get into the real depths of the subject, and the fact that they will be working with pupils before any of this is covered in the apprenticeship. However, we should see how this goes in practice before drawing conclusions. 

Funding clarity needed to ensure supply

So, if the ‘dumbing down’ fears are allayed, what about concerns about the crucial supply route? I think the answer to this is, “not yet”. 

In the first year of the programme, the aim is to recruit 150 teachers (figures on how many are actually recruited aren’t yet available) against an overall target of around 2300. Given that these apprentices won’t be teaching full time in schools until the start of the academic year 2029-2030, this is hardly going to make a big dent in the current recruitment and retention issues that schools face. 

A further complication lies in the fact the Government has only committed to funding 40% of the apprentices’ school salaries for the first cohort of students, with no guarantees for future intakes.  If they don’t, it becomes a question of whether schools will be able to support a larger take up of this scheme. After all, how many schools out there can afford to be paying over £20 000 for a teacher that isn’t really able to teach full classes, whilst still having to pay another teacher to teach the timetable for that year? There are some of the larger multi-academy trusts that could work with this sort of model, and benefit from a “grow your own” approach, but smaller trusts or LEA maintained academies might struggle in a time where education budgets come under increasing pressure.

Overall, having studied the nuts and bolts of the scheme, there is enough reason to suggest the Degree Apprenticeship will be an initiative prospective maths teachers will embrace as a route into the profession. Crucially, it should also be something schools get on board with to help alleviate some of the strains around teacher recruitment and retention. If they do, further Government backing will surely swiftly follow.