'Too often teachers come with not enough life experience'

The Government has defended the use of unqualified teachers in free schools, after the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, suggested they should employ only qualified teachers and adhere to the national curriculum.

Elan Ezekial, an educational consultant who has worked to set up and support free schools, believes that teachers from non-teaching backgrounds bring "life experience" to schools.

He told BBC Radio 5 live's Victoria Derbyshire: "To bring in people who've got a wider life experience and skills from outside of education... has got to encourage better educational outcomes."