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Give teachers the credit and support they deserve

Andria Zafirakou accepts the Global Teacher Prize trophy from Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: AP
Andria Zafirakou accepts the Global Teacher Prize trophy from Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: AP

The news that this year’s Global Teacher Prize has been awarded to a London teacher is not only a huge achievement for the winner, Andria Zafirakou from Alperton Community School in Brent, but also recognition for the transformation of educational standards across the capital’s schools.

Carrying a $1 million cash award, the Global Teacher Prize has become the annual Oscars for the teaching profession, this year attracting more than 30,000 entries from 173 countries.

The idea for this prize was prompted by research commissioned by the Varkey Foundation, an educational charity, which looked at perceptions about teaching compared with other professions across 21 countries. It found that only in China do teachers occupy the same status as doctors.

The aim of the Varkey prize is to elevate teachers’ status and support the ambition of attracting the best from the next generation to look at teaching as a career. A large part of this is redefining the purpose of teachers and their relationship with students.

As a member of the judging panel for the Global Teacher Prize, that is what I believe distinguished Ms Zafirakou. Her passion for making a difference to the lives of all 1,400 children at the school extends well beyond the classroom. She has helped vulnerable pupils, often targeted for recruitment by gangs, to stay out of danger by escorting them home and setting up clubs and societies to keep them off the streets. She recognised that family circumstances can become a major obstacle to progress. By going the extra mile this secondary academy is now in the top five per cent of schools for qualifications.

This pattern has been replicated in other parts of London. In fact, London performed the best of any region in England last year, with 67 per cent of students achieving the expected standard and 11 per cent the higher standard — with the five highest-performing local authorities all in the capital.

It is therefore good to see the Government implement measures to support teachers. In last autumn’s Budget one of the less well-publicised initiatives was allocating £42 million to pilot a Teacher Development Premium, providing up to £1,000 to spend for career development opportunities in areas of greatest need.

One of Justine Greening’s last major policy announcements as Education Secretary was to launch a consultation on strengthening Qualified Teacher Status. Now new Education Secretary Damian Hinds has pledged to strip away from teachers the workload that doesn’t add value in the classroom. He has also promised no new tests or assessments for primary schools and no changes to the national curriculum, GCSE or A-levels for the remainder of this parliament.

There is rare cross-party consensus that great teachers help unlock children’s talents — and investing in their futures is vital.