Mansfield MP calls for 'diversity' in teaching during debate

In a Westminster Hall debate, Coun Ben Bradley, Mansfield MP and Nottinghamshire Council leader, raised his concerns about how individuals have to possess degree level qualifications to access a career in teaching.

He said this could inadvertently make for a less diverse workforce.

Coun Bradley said: "This is not diversity in terms of physical characteristics, but in background, views and experience.”

He said having a teaching workforce full of diverse experiences and backgrounds helps provide a more rounded education and prepares students better for the real world.

In his speech, Coun Bradley spoke about a visit to Crocodile Rock Day Care in Mansfield, where he had discussions with staff and owners at the day care.

He said the discussion centred around the issues of staff retention, claiming that many staff were leaving the profession for careers in retail and due to a lack of training as a result of tight budgets.

Coun Bradley said: “I was really pleased to get the opportunity to raise issues around how we can open up teaching careers to more people.

“Whenever I speak to schools in Mansfield, I raise my concerns that one of the biggest problems they face is recruiting and retaining the right people.”

The MP said those who enter the early years settings should be able to take those skills and progress through apprenticeship-style training into primary teaching for example.

He said this could open up new opportunities and improve recruitment and retention in the sector.

In his speech, Coun Bradley called out the lack of male teachers in primary schools.

As he said, research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research showed nearly 30% of all state-funded schools in the East Midlands have no male classroom teachers.

During the speech, Coun Bradley said how important it is, ‘particularly for children with no positive male figures at home, to see a positive male role model’ in the classroom.

He said the ‘lack of male primary school teachers’ was also related to the wider issue of teacher training and the need to open up access to teaching careers.

Coun Bradley said there are ‘next to no examples’ of support for young men to get into teaching, as he said women make up 75 per cent of teachers.

He said: “Research has consistently shown that having male teachers in the classroom is vital for a number of societal, psychological and social reasons.

“This is particularly the case for boys in a household where that positive male role model is not present.

“This is not only because it provides boys with the opportunity to learn from someone they perceive as similar to them, but that it also means those boys see someone whose interactions with women are positive.”

On your Chad Facebook page, constituents reacted to Coun Bradley’s speech.

Marilyn Roberts said: “Keep up the good work for our area.”

Rebecca Morris said she felt it was a pay gap issue.

She said: “Pay teachers more and you'll encourage all kinds of people to train.”

Alex Brompton said: “More positive role models are very important.

“But first, we need to value the teachers we already have."