This report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and produced by the NFER, shows that teacher supply is in a critical state, posing a substantial risk to the quality of education. Meanwhile, there has been little progress on reducing high teacher workload since the pandemic, which has a strong impact on teacher retention.
According to the report, initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment this year is likely to continue to fall below the level needed to ensure sufficient staffing levels in schools.
Meanwhile, the number of teachers considering leaving teaching increased 44 per cent between 2021/22 and 2022/23. Ambitious, radical and cost-effective policy options are urgently needed to address these challenges.
The report highlights the critical state of teacher supply in England. There are not enough teachers to fill vacancies in schools, which risks the quality of education for students. This shortage is due to a number of factors, including a decline in the number of people applying for teacher training, and an increase in the number of teachers leaving the profession.
One of the main reasons why people are not applying to become teachers is because of the low pay. Teacher pay has fallen behind earnings growth in other professions since 2010. This means that teachers are now earning significantly less than they could be doing in other jobs. This is making it difficult to attract and retain high-quality teachers.