Fit For Nothing?

Only in PC land could a man who suffers from ­dyspraxia, a medical condition that affects physical co-ordination ....

Bad Teachers Parachuted In To Schools?

..... be passed fit to teach by an elite taxpayer-funded training scheme ... Teach First, gets millions in funding to parachute top graduates into schools.

In 2016, Faisal Ahmed was sent to work at Thomas More Catholic school in Wood Green, North London, a top secondary school, despite the fact that he had “a degree of reading and comprehension difficulty, as well as pain in [his] hand from handwriting.” He told the headmaster of the school, Mark Rowland, that he could “hardly write” for “more than a couple of minutes” as it was too painful ... the headmaster suspended him, and he quit, allegedly in a fury.

He then sued the school for ­constructive dismissal and disability discrimination, but he lost both his tribunal claim, and a later appeal. Teach First admitted they had not informed the school of his dyspraxia before he started in 2016.

Teach First is a social enterprise registered as a charity which aims to address educational disadvantage in England and Wales. What's interesting about this is that apart from the fact that he was totally unsuitable to teach, the Teach First participants must undergo a two-year training programme in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status ... so how, if he has a degree of reading and comprehension difficulties, as well as a physical condition did he get through his two years training, and achieve Qualified Teacher Status? 

Teach First didn't answer questions about this particular case directly, but told a national newspaper that:

'We hold the highest standards for every candidate who joins our teacher training programme. Every trainee who is offered a place must have a degree, expertise in the subject they teach and GCSEs in maths and English. They also will have passed the professional skills tests for prospective teachers in numeracy and literacy - which is standard for all routes into teaching.

'Once offered a place in a school, Teach First continues to provide rigorous training and support for two years to the candidate, alongside a university tutor and school mentor. Our training programme has been rated outstanding by Ofsted. We have always welcomed applications from candidates with disabilities and additional needs - and work with them, the school and university partners to provide any extra training and support needed to ensure their teaching is of the highest quality.'

So now you know where your tax money goes ..... woke up yet?