Latest news: Training for ICT teachers

Teach First and Google will work together to train and support more than 100 ICT and science teachers to work in schools serving some of the country’s lowest income communities. 11/06/2012

The three-year partnership, which aims to address the severe shortage of teachers in these economically important subject areas, will see Teach First and Google train 102 teachers, 34 for each year of the partnership. Over the life of the partnership Google will support 61 ICT and 41 science teachers to work in schools in challenging circumstances across the country. The first 34 teachers are set to enter classrooms in September 2012.

Eric Schmidt, executive chairman at Google said, ‘Science transforms our understanding of the world and gives us the building blocks to transform our lives. We recognise there’s a severe shortage in the UK of people equipped to teach computer science. So, we’ve joined forces with Teach First to help train and support more than 100 first rate science and computer science teachers over the next three years.’

The partnership was borne out of a shared concern that too few young people were leaving school with the skills and interest to work in the UK’s rapidly growing science and technology sector.

To ensure that the ICT teachers and their pupils have access to the latest cutting-edge technology, Google will also provide each teacher with a bursary to fund the purchase of innovative teaching aids to inspire and enthuse their classes.

Speaking about the partnership Teach First  founder and CEO Brett Wigdortz said, ‘The shortage of ICT and science teachers is an issue facing most schools, but this issue is especially acute in those schools serving low-income communities.

‘Through joining forces with Google Teach First will be able to ensure that, over the three years of the partnership, more than 20,000 pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds will benefit from having access to inspirational ICT and science teachers.’