Into Teaching

Into Teaching

Promoting access for disabled people

The Into Teaching project is designed to actively encourage and support more disabled people to become teachers.

It is important that disabled people have the opportunity to fulfill their potential in all areas of learning and work. Teaching is an especially stimulating and rewarding profession, offering excellent career and development prospects.

The government is committed to maintaining the highest possible standards in schools. It is vital therefore that teaching attracts skilled and talented people from a variety of backgrounds. Disabled teachers can also help young people raise their aspirations and educate them about respecting diversity and individuality.

This project is being run by Skill and funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

Samantha Wright teaching primary school children. She has dyslexia.

Stuart Newton with secondary school pupils. He is a wheelchair user.

Web resources

This section of the Skill website will become the central source of information for disabled people interested in teaching. It will also be useful to trainee teachers, ITT providers and schools.

The website shows many positive case studies of disabled people enjoying a successful career in teaching. It contains answers to the most frequently asked questions about becoming a teacher and covers issues such as support, funding, the Disability Discrimination Act and the ‘fitness to teach’ regulations.

Teaching helpline

As part of this project, Skill has a dedicated helpline to answer individual enquiries about becoming a teacher. We also aim to support students, education and training providers and school staff and governors with any disability-related questions which arise during teacher training.

The number is 0800 158 5508 and the telephone helpline is open:

Mondays 10.00am - 1.00pm

Wednesdays 1.00pm - 4.00pm

You can also contact the helpline by email at teaching@skill.org.uk

Ambassador Scheme

The Ambassador Scheme is for disabled people to hear first-hand about what it is like to train and work in a school. Skill ambassador henry holmes outside school gates

The ambassadors are all serving teachers who have a disability. They can talk honestly and objectively about their experiences. We hope they will encourage you to take forward your interest in teaching and enable you to make an informed choice about a career in this highly rewarding profession.

You can meet our ambassadors at various events around the country. It may also be possible to arrange to speak to them by phone or email.

Skill and the TDA

Skill takes a particular interest in the teaching profession and we get more careers enquiries about working in schools than any other subject. We first produced our Into Teaching guide in 1998 and it has been republished twice since due to its continuing popularity.

Skill contributed evidence to the Disability Rights Commission Maintaining Standards: Promoting Equality report into the barriers faced by disabled people who want to enter nursing, teaching and social work, and we are a member of the Disabled Teacher Taskforce hosted by the General Teaching Council (GTC) for England.

Skill is delighted to be working on this project supported by the TDA, the national agency responsible for the training and development of the school workforce.

The TDA aims to make sure there is a good supply of talented, well trained people going into teaching each year. It plays a central role in supporting school staff to help children and young people meet the outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda. Its guiding vision is ‘developing people, improving young lives’.