Teacher supply in England is in a ‘critical state’, with a report warning that below-target recruitment in some subjects, and concerns about attrition due to high workload and pay, present a risk to the quality of education.
The Teacher labour market in England annual report 2024, published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NEFR), finds overall secondary teacher recruitment reached only half of its target in 2023/24, with under-recruitment more acute in subjects including business studies and physics.
The recruitment target for postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) was only hit in three subjects: history, physical education and classics.
NFER’s ITT recruitment forecast, based on applications made up to February 2024, suggests that 10 out of 17 secondary subjects are likely to under-recruit in 2024/25.
Teacher recruitment in England
Unions criticise reduction in secondary teacher training target
The report warns that shortages of subject specialist teachers are likely to become a growing problem for schools, particularly in physics and modern foreign languages.
Teaching unions last week criticised the government for reducing its secondary teacher training target for 2024/25 by nearly a tenth.
According to NEFR, the number of teachers considering leaving the profession increased by 44% between 2021/22 and 2022/23, with many citing concerns about workload pressures and pay.
In 2022/23 teachers worked six hours per week more than similar graduates in other occupations, driven in part by worsening pupil behaviour since the pandemic.
The government last year announced plans to reduce working hours by five hours per week within three years, however NFER says meeting this target will be a challenge.
The workload reduction taskforce commissioned by the Department for Education recently published a list of tasks that teachers should not be expected to do.
Despite the 6.5% increase last year, pay for experienced teachers – those at the top of the pay scale – was 12% lower in real terms than in 2010/11.
The report suggests that the next teacher pay award must at least match the expected 3.1% growth in average earnings across the labour market, which has been forecast by the OBR for 2024/25. However, it recognises that pay increases must also be affordable for schools.
The research recommends that the government should introduce a “frontline workers pay premium” to compensate public sector workers for the lack of remote and hybrid working opportunities in their job.
Teacher supply is in a critical state that risks the quality of education that children and young people receive” – Jack Worth, NEFR
Jack Worth, school workforce lead at NFER, said: “Teacher supply is in a critical state that risks the quality of education that children and young people receive. We urge the current government to take action to improve teacher recruitment and retention, and the political parties to develop long-term plans for after the election.
“The 2024 teacher pay award should exceed 3.1 per cent – the latest forecast of the rise in average earnings next year – to narrow the gap between teacher pay and the wider labour market and improve recruitment and retention. This needs to be accompanied by a long-term strategy to improve the competitiveness of teacher pay while crucially ensuring schools have the funds to pay for it.”
Dr Emily Tanner, programme head at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research, said: “Today’s report shows that previous initiatives, such as bursaries, have made some difference but that more fundamental changes are needed for teaching to be an attractive and sustainable profession that reflects its importance in our society.”
The report came out as education unions including the Association of School and College Leaders, the NEU, NAHT, NASUWT and Community published a joint statement addressed to the School Teachers’ Review Body, calling for a fully-funded pay increase from the government.
“Pay in schools has fallen off a cliff since 2010, and leaders are at their wits’ end trying to get the staff they need,” said Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT.
“The recruitment and retention crisis is fuelling a crushing workload – leaders are forced to make class sizes bigger, have no choice but to ask teachers to cover unfamiliar subjects and often have to cover lessons themselves. There simply won’t be enough leaders and teachers to give children the education they deserve – over half of leaders are looking to leave the profession, and few senior teachers aspire to headship because of the pressures.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary at NASUWT, said: “The government’s approach to pay over the past 14 years has systematically failed. The country’s schools are in crisis. There is a crisis of teacher supply and pay is a central factor.
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“Unless and until the depth of this crisis is recognised, and a commitment made to use the pay mechanism to restore the status of teachers, schools will not be able to recruit the teachers and headteachers they need to meet the needs of all children and young people.”
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