Do you need qualifications to be qualified?

An interesting development regarding school staffing has arisen over the past few years. With the advent of Academies and Free Schools and competition for the best talent becoming increasingly fierce, the qualifications employees hold seems to have become more and more prevalent and relevant in hiring choices.

Though this has clearly affected teachers since the government announced in 2012 that you no longer require QTS to teach at an Academy or Free School, this issue has now moved to different roles across the whole school community. 

There are now many colleges offering teaching assistant courses and many people are now completing their Level 2 and 3 NVQ or CACHE. Schools are increasingly asking for candidates with these. However, there are many hard working, dedicated and incredibly knowledgeable teaching assistants who do not hold a formal qualification. Should their experience be overlooked? Many became teaching assistants before these qualifications existed and play a vital role within the school community. 

It is not just for teaching assistants that we have been asked for qualifications which previously were not required. Whilst SENCOs have required the Masters level National Award for Special Education Needs in mainstream schools since 2009, there are many SENCos who have done the job since before this was a requirement who are now struggling despite years of experience in the role. Similarly with School Business Managers where DSBM and CSBMs are now needed. School accountants now need AAT qualifications and school administration staff are now increasingly asked for Level 2 or 3 NVQs in Business Administration.

So are schools increasingly following a wider business pattern where qualifications become the be all and end all of hiring requirements? Should a qualification or existing experience in the role be prevalent? Are employers hiding behind qualifications if the candidate is not a success? Does it make it easier to justify to Ofsted? Or is it the duty of every staff member to have an official qualification for the role they are doing however much experience they have? Should it not be a pre-requisite, even if that qualification is gained retroactively? With strict government guidelines for certain roles but not for others, has this left schools confused about finding the best candidate for their positions. I have always found this an interesting topic of discussion and I would love to hear your thoughts...