Wednesday March 15th – Today School’s Minister Andrew Adonis will officially launch a new Teach First initiative, the ‘Territorial Teachers’ programme.   Inspired by the Territorial Army, the scheme will see Teach First Ambassadors, who have graduated from the programme and who have taken up fast-track positions in other professions, return to their schools as volunteers for five days a year.

The scheme has won the backing of Deloitte, the business advisory firm, and the Department for Education and Skills.  At the launch an appeal will be made for more companies to sign up to the scheme.

Territorial teachers will be of benefit:

• To pupils in some of London’s most challenging schools by giving them contact with young and ambitious mentors.
• To schools by having a valuable link with an employer with whom they can exchange ideas and resources. 
• To businesses, who will benefit from having employees who have communication and leadership skills honed by the rigours of the classroom.

Territorial Teachers is the brainchild of James Townsend, one of the first cohort of Teach First graduates now serving as Participant President.  He originally designed the scheme for his entry to the School Project Competition run by Teach First, which encourages teachers to come up with a social entrepreneurial idea and tasks them with writing a business plan to put it in place.

Commenting on its launch James says:  “It is really exciting to see Territorial Teachers get off the ground with the backing of Deloitte.  I hope that more companies will sign up to the programme and support Teach First in its mission to help tackle educational disadvantage.”

School’s Minister Andrew Adonis says: "I have been greatly impressed by the impact of Teach First and I welcome this expansion of the scheme. I am confident that the return of ambitious and successful professionals to their Teach First schools will contribute to raising pupil’s aspirations to the highest levels."

Sarah Shillingford, graduate recruitment partner at Deloitte said:  “It’s a privilege to be the first corporate to support the Territorial Teachers scheme. The skills Teach First participants gain – team working, improved communication skills, and the ability to plan projects, motivate people and solve problems – are the abilities that we look for in the individuals we employ.  We are committed to education and the community and the Territorial Teachers agreement builds on our wider education programmes.”

Brett Wigdortz, CEO of Teach First says; “We expect our Ambassadors to become the future leaders of across all sectors and with the backing of more supporter, territorial teachers will become an important way for these leaders to continue to support the Teach First mission.”

Notes to Editors

1. Teach First’s mission is to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields. Teach First targets high calibre students who would not normally consider a career in teaching and places them in challenged secondary schools – where more than a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals – for the course of the two year placement.
2. This year Deloitte took on three Teach First graduates into its graduate recruitment programme.  They hope to take a further 10 Teach First graduates this year. They also became the first company  to sign a formal agreement with Teach First to fund future recruits through a two-year teaching  placement before they join Deloitte’s graduate recruitment programme. All Teach First graduates at  Deloitte will be eligible to take part in the Territorial Teachers scheme.
3. Teach First recruits, trains and supports its recruits as teachers and long-term leaders.  Recruits begin their training with an intensive programme provided The University of Manchester and Canterbury Christ Church University.  This sets them on the path to achieving the award of Qualified Teacher Status by the end of the first year.  
4. All teachers gain a Foundations of Leadership certificate from Tanaka School of Business. School placements last two years, at which point participants can continue teaching or pursue another career.
5. Teach First is an independent charity that is supported by all the main political parties, the National Union of Teachers, graduate organisations and over eighty leading employers. This year, Teach First gained entry into the top twenty of the coveted league of Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.
6. This spring Teach First Greater Manchester will be officially launched. 

About Deloitte
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP which is among the country’s leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services through more than 9,000 people in 21 locations. Known as an employer of choice for innovative human resources programmes, it is dedicated to helping its clients and its people excel.

Deloitte & Touche LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (‘DTT’), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are separate and independent legal entities. Neither DTT nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Services are provided by member firms or their subsidiaries and not by DTT. Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.