Leila's Story

Meet Leila, 26, from Hackney South and Shoreditch, who wanted to become a teacher in one of London's most deprived areas. Despite critical teacher shortages across the capital, the Department for Education reduced training bursaries for her subject. Treasury spending rules force departments to compete for fixed pots, as though the government that creates the currency must first find it somewhere else. The classrooms were there. Graduates who wanted to teach were there. What was missing was the political decision to connect them. This episode explores how Westminster's choices about teacher training funding block people from entering the profession exactly where they're needed most. Disclosure: this series challenges orthodox assumptions about government finance and argues for policy approaches informed by monetary sovereignty.