Kevin Satchwell (R) believes schools are the best training ground

But now the government is lifting a limit on the number of places and heads will be offered �4,000 grants to cover the costs of training, provided they then meet the �13,000 salary out of their own budgets.

The "training only" grants will be available from January next year.

The initiative backs the views of "superhead" Sir Kevin Satchwell from the Thomas Telford School in Shropshire.

Speaking in a BBC News Online forum in June, Sir Kevin said every school should be allowed to train its own students on a reasonable salary, cutting out the bureaucracy of being taught on a traditional PGCE course.

Devolving training to schools would be the single most effective means of improving recruitment, he said.

'Hands-on'

The School Standards Minister, Stephen Timms, the programme had given potential teachers a new avenue into the profession, enabling them to get "real hands-on experience".

The government should not underestimate the need for appropriate training

Nigel de Gruchy, NASUWT

"We know that many head teachers want this flexibility so that they can recruit extra graduates on to the programme.

"New trainee teachers on the programme will gain direct experience in the classroom, a fully supported training programme and potentially gain their qualified teacher status within one year.

"That means more high quality teachers in our classrooms driving forward standards and giving young people more opportunities to succeed," said Mr Timms.

'Vigilant eye'

Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, said he supported more realistic school-based teacher training programmes.

"But I believe the government should not underestimate the need for appropriate training if the mistakes of the past are not to be repeated," said Mr de Gruchy.

"While NASUWT broadly supports the graduate teacher programme in principle, there is a great variety of practice across the country, and all too often existing teachers are neither given the time nor the support to carry out the 'on the job' training for the new graduate recruits," he said.

The NASUWT would be keeping a "vigilant eye" on the development of the graduate teacher programme, to make sure standards were not sacrificed to hide the government's embarrassment over teacher shortages, he added.