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Teachers 'Should Face Regular Classroom MOTs'

Teachers should be made to have licences and will face the sack if they fail to pass checks on their abilities, the Labour party has said.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said he wants teachers to be reviewed every few years to improve standards in England's state schools.

A similar proposal was floated by the previous Labour government - and dubbed "classroom MOTs" by former schools secretary Ed Balls - but was opposed by some unions and dropped before the 2010 general election.

Mr Hunt told the BBC: "Just like lawyers and doctors they should have the same professional standing which means re-licensing themselves, which means continued professional development, which means being the best possible they can be.

"If you're not a motivated teacher - passionate about your subject, passionate about being in the classroom - then you shouldn't really be in this profession."

Labour previously said it would insist on all teachers having Qualified Teacher Status, with staff already working in academies given a deadline to acquire a formal qualification.

The plan has not proved popular with teachers. Deputy Secretary General of the National Union of Teacher Kevin Courtney said there had been much reaction on social media.

He told Sky News: "If this turns out to be the same as (previous proposals), that hostility will be there from teachers and won't be supported by the National Union of Teachers.

"We've seen reaction overnight from teachers. There is a large degree of scepticism that Tristram Hunt is going to have to overcome."

A Conservative spokesman said the Government was willing to look any proposals which will "genuinely improve the quality of teaching".

He said: "We have already taken action by allowing heads to remove teachers from the classroom in a term, as opposed to a year previously, and scrapping the three-hour limit on classroom observations.

"We are improving teacher training, expanding Teach First and allowing heads to pay good teachers more.

"Thanks to our reforms, a record proportion of top graduates are entering the profession.

"Fixing the schools system so young people have the skills they need is a key part of our long-term economic plan."

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