This study reports on the characteristics of the population of teachers who attended the core curriculum training programmes offered to practising literacy, numeracy and ESOL teachers and trainers as part of the Skills for Life strategy from 2001 to 2003. The findings in this report give a picture of the teachers who took part in the training programmes. The data is not based on representative samples of the whole population of teachers, but on the substantial numbers of teachers who participated in the training. These numbers are sufficiently large to make the findings interesting. The data will be useful to those responsible for planning professional development programmes for staff.
Key findings:
• More than 80 per cent of literacy, numeracy and ESOL teachers are female.
• More than half of literacy and numeracy teachers are aged over 46.
• 75 per cent of ESOL teachers, and over 90 per cent of literacy and numeracy teachers are white.
• 79 per cent of teachers have a qualification at level 4 or above, 90 per cent at level three and above.
• 56 per cent have recognised teaching qualifications, such as Cert Ed/PGCE but many have other specialist professional teaching qualifications.
• 7 per cent have only an introductory teaching certificate in the form of the C&G 9281, and no other teaching qualifications.
• 5 per cent have no teaching qualifications at all. aspects of their lives.