clipped from: uk.news.yahoo.com Teachers will face five-year check-ups to ensure they are fit to teach and could be banned from the classroom if they are not up to scratch, the Government has announced. Skip related content
Children's secretary Ed Balls said he will introduce a "licence to teach" to place teachers on a par with doctors and solicitors.
The renewable licence, outlined in the Schools White Paper, is a way of weeding out poor teachers.
Education experts have estimated thousands are under-performing.
The licence will be introduced for newly qualified teachers and those returning to the profession from next year, before being rolled out across the profession. To keep their licence teachers will have to demonstrate they have "up-to-date skills and learning to be effective in the classroom", or face having it revoked.
The licence plan received a mixed response from teaching unions.