Labour’s Pledge to Hire 6,500 Extra Teachers in England Will Be a Challenge, Report Says
A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that the UK government’s pledge to appoint 6,500 extra teachers in England by the end of this parliament will be difficult to achieve and is likely to fall short of demand. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has made the recruitment of thousands of extra teachers in state schools a cornerstone of the government’s education policy, which has been funded by adding VAT to private school fees.
According to the NAO report, a projected increase in secondary schools’ pupil numbers is likely to outpace Labour’s recruitment ambitions, leaving teacher vacancies unfilled. Furthermore, further education (FE) colleges, which are particularly badly affected by a longstanding recruitment and retention crisis, will need up to 12,400 more teachers alone by 2028-29, almost double the government’s overall pledge. The report also notes that the number of newly qualified teachers who started in state secondary schools in 2023-24 fell to 8,700 – the lowest number since 2010-11.
The Department for Education (DfE) has missed its recruitment target for secondary teacher training in all but one of the past 10 years. With secondary school pupil numbers likely to peak in 2028, piling further pressure on the system, the NAO called on the government to publish a delivery plan, outlining how it intends to recruit the additional 6,500 teachers within the timeframe. The NAO also urged ministers to "assess the extent to which the further education workforce model is fit for purpose".
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: "Despite the government’s pledge, secondary schools and further education colleges face a challenge in securing enough teachers to support growing student numbers." Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the chair of the public accounts committee, added: "The DfE assesses that meeting the government’s pledge for 6,500 more teachers will be very challenging. Even if met, it is not clear that this will be enough to fix the nationwide shortage of teachers amidst growing numbers of students."
Jack Worth, the school workforce lead at the National Foundation for Educational Research, said the report sent a clear message to government that it would miss its 6,500 teacher recruitment pledge if it does not take action now. "Unfilled vacancy levels are at their highest rates since records began in 2010, with pay, stress from dealing with pupil behaviour and workload pressures reported to be contributing to teachers leaving the profession," he added. "Properly funded pay rises are urgently needed alongside and non-financial measures, such as workload reduction and flexible working, to improve both recruitment and retention."
Responding to the NAO report, Phillipson reiterated the government’s commitment to recruiting 6,500 more teachers. "We’re already seeing green shoots, with 2,000 more secondary school teachers training this year, alongside a boost in the number set to begin training in shortage Stem [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] subjects, but there’s still much more to do. Following last year’s 5.5% pay award, and with hundreds of millions of pounds being invested to help us turn the tide, I’m determined to restore teaching as the attractive, prestigious profession it should be."
The NAO report is the latest in a series of warnings about the challenges facing the education sector in England. The government has faced criticism for its handling of teacher recruitment and retention, with many experts calling for a comprehensive plan to address the shortage. The issue is likely to be a key area of focus for policymakers in the coming months.
In a separate study, researchers at Warwick Business School found that men may be facing discrimination when applying for roles in England’s school workforce, particularly for jobs at entry level such as teaching assistant roles. The study asked 600 teachers to evaluate fictitious CVs and found on average men were rated 1.2 percentage points lower than women, and 1.8 percentage points lower in applications for teacher assistant roles. Dr Joshua Fullard, an assistant professor at the school, said: "There’s growing concern about the lack of male teachers, especially to act as role models for boys. But our research shows that, despite this concern, men still face biases during the hiring process – particularly in lower-ranked positions."
The findings of the NAO report and the study on male teacher recruitment have significant implications for the education sector in England. As the government continues to grapple with the challenges of teacher recruitment and retention, it is clear that a comprehensive plan is needed to address the shortage and ensure that schools have the teachers they need to provide high-quality education to students.
Source: The Guardian
