Ministers are drawing up plans for an apprenticeship route into teaching that could replace current on-the-job training schemes, Schools Week has learned. Jonathan Slater (pictured), the Department for Education’s permanent secretary, told MPs on Monday that his department is creating a teaching apprenticeship to begin next year. Officials are considering how they can “tweak” existing training to offer the apprenticeship, he said, and sources close to the talks said it could eventually replace existing on-the-job routes such as School Direct. The government is under pressure to create a teaching apprenticeship so that schools can claw back money they pay into the new apprenticeship levy from April, but is also keen to protect the graduate-only nature of the profession. School leaders are concerned about the cost of the levy, as well as “practical difficulties” in employing apprentices From April, schools with large wage bills must pay the levy that they can claim back to cover the cost of training new apprentices. Those with more than 250 employees will also have to hire a certain number of trainees every year under new public sector apprenticeship targets. School leaders are concerned about the cost of the levy, as well as “practical difficulties” in…http://schoolsweek.co.uk/teaching-apprenticeships-the-new-school-direct/