MPs are to investigate the current state of teacher retention and recruitment as part of a new inquiry, it has been announced today
The Commons Education Select Committee has launched an inquiry into teacher recruitment, training and retention and the impact that current difficulties are having on pupils.
Robin Walker, chair of the committee and a former schools minister, said that the government must ”urgently identify solutions to ensure pupils receive consistent and quality teaching, and that teachers feel supported in their roles”.
The move comes after last year’s teacher trainee recruitment figures were been described as “catastrophic” by heads’ leaders.
Figures published by the government in December revealed that it missed its primary trainee target for the first time since before the pandemic in 2022-23, and by the widest margin in eight years, while the target for secondary teacher trainee entrants was missed by 41 per cent.
Mr Walker said: ”The current teacher shortages in some subjects in state-funded schools make it more challenging for schools to provide high-quality education across the country.”
He added that it was “imperative” that the government took a “comprehensive and nuanced look at the difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers”.
“We must urgently identify solutions to ensure pupils receive consistent and quality teaching, and that teachers feel supported in their roles,” Mr Walker said.
Tackling the teacher recruitment difficulties
The inquiry’s call for evidence, which opens today and closes on Friday 21 April, asks for submissions on the current situation on teacher recruitment and retention, and asks what action the Department for Education should take to address the challenges.
It also asks how well the current teacher training framework works to prepare new teachers and how it could be improved.
The teacher training sector recently underwent major reform, with the government requiring all providers to go through a reaccreditation process.
Last year Tes revealed that around one-third of current providers had been unsuccessful in gaining accreditation, with the move criticised for creating training “cold spots” in parts of the country.
The call for evidence will also ask how challenges in teacher recruitment, training and retention compare with those being faced in other professions, and if anything could be learned from other professions or sectors of the economy.
In addition, it will look at the particular challenges in teacher recruitment, training and retention for teachers from different demographic backgrounds.
The committee will also assess specific reforms aimed at retaining teachers, including the Early Career Framework, Workload Reduction Toolkit, investment in National Professional Qualifications and provision to support teachers’ mental health, amid concern that these policies have yet to make a significant difference to retention.
