A good teacher is worth their weight in gold. A decent wage, meanwhile, is vital for recruitment and retention. Yet pay has been falling. Salaries for more experienced teachers in England have dropped by 13 per cent in real terms since 2010, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
As a result, education experts have warned that teachers are turning their backs on the profession. This is becoming an acute problem in the capital. As we reveal in today’s paper, the number of Londoners applying for postgraduate teaching courses has dropped by 11 per cent in one year. The city also saw a drop of 10 per cent in applications for undergraduate teaching courses through Ucas.
Teaching is a tough job. The reality, especially in a city like London, is that people have options to work elsewhere, not only for better pay but in less stressful roles. Programmes such as Teach First, which brings in younger teachers, and Now Teach, for experienced professionals, are key to making the profession more attractive. But pay remains a crucial driver.
We are seeing the same pressure in the NHS, which is struggling to fill vacancies in part because of uncompetitive salaries. If we want to attract and then keep the best teachers, we must pay a fair wage.
Happy eaters
Going out for a meal in London is one of life’s joys. The capital is home to some of the best restaurants in the world, from fine dining to local treasures. Three courses and a bottle of wine have never come cheap but amid soaring inflation and a cost-of-living-crisis, it often now feels prohibitive.
But one of our leading Michelin-starred chefs, Jason Atherton, wants to change that. He has cut prices at his flagship Mayfair restaurant as well as at other locations to encourage diners to come in and lessen the sense of “alienation” many feel when they sit down. Happily, this also includes the wine list.
A meal out may be a luxury, but it ought not to be an impossibility. More restaurateurs should follow Atherton’s suit, cutting prices or offering cheaper alternatives to ensure that another one of life’s simple pleasures is not placed out of reach of ordinary Londoners.
Farewell, Sixties queen
If London is known for creative street fashion it owes that reputation in great part to one woman: Mary Quant, designer and entrepreneur, who has died at the age of 93.
As Twiggy observed: “The Sixties would have never been the same without her”. She may or may not have invented the mini-skirt, but she made it hers. Quant revolutionised not just clothes and hosiery in eye-popping colours — as well as make-up with pale lips and catflick eyes — but the very concept of democratic fashion. “Fashion,” she declared, “is for everyone.” London, home of the Swinging Sixties, owed her a lot. We still do.
