Maths graduates can earn good money outside teaching

Tens of thousands of pupils in England are taught by non-specialists, as it is one of the subjects where schools have the most difficulty recruiting fully qualified staff.

Maths graduates can earn more in other jobs and shortages of specialist teachers continue, despite the availability of �4,000 "golden hellos" from the government.

The OU said the graduate diploma was designed for teachers working with every age group.

Teaching experience

The first courses to be launched are designed to enable them to teach 11 to 14 year olds, a group the government has targeted so it does not slip back during the so-called "lost years" between the end of primary school and the GCSE phase.

There were no entry requirements, although the OU said it assumed most entrants would have some experience of teaching and learning maths.

The OU estimates that a quarter of a million children in England are taught subjects, including maths and English, by teachers without a specific degree in that area.

Barbara Allen, director of its centre for mathematics education, said: "Retention and recruitment problems continue to leave many schools obliged to use non-specialist staff at Key Stage 3 (11 to 14).

"Many teachers of mathematics are in the invidious position of having to teach a subject in which they have limited subject knowledge and little, or no training.

"We hope that the graduate diploma in maths education and its constituent courses will help teachers like these to develop the skills and knowledge they need to ensure their mathematics teaching is as successful as possible to the benefit of all pupils."