New
analysis from the Education Policy Institute
(EPI) highlights the growing pressures facing the teacher labour
market in England.
Authored by Research Fellow Luke Sibieta, the research brings
together the latest trends on teacher recruitment, retention and
staff qualifications. It analyses the implications for the future
of the workforce and education standards, before setting out
viable options for policymakers.
The teacher labour market faces some huge
challenges:
-
The overall number of pupils in secondary schools is
expected to grow by 20 per cent by 2026. To prevent
class sizes from rising, the total number of teachers would
also need to grow by the same amount.
-
The government’s target of increasing student E-Bacc
take-up from 38 to 90 per cent by 2025 would require a
significant rise in teachers for these subjects.
For example, the number of modern foreign languages
teachers would need to rise by 78 per cent in 2019–20 to meet
these targets.
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Teacher exits are rising. Between 2010 and 2016, exit
rates rose from 9.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent in
secondaries. Of particular concern is the 80 per cent
of exits due to movements to other jobs. Exits are also
concentrated early on - just 60 per cent of teachers work in a
state-funded schools 5 years after training.
-
At the same time, teacher entrants are dropping
significantly – with applications to teacher
training down by almost a third.
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Some subjects in particular are struggling to fill
places: in 2017/18, only 70 per cent of physics teacher
placement targets were filled. Responding to these
pressures, in some subjects schools have increased teacher
hours, or have brought in staff with lower qualifications.
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Overall the number of teachers with degrees has risen –
though some subjects have seen decreases. In physics
and geography, there have been decreases between 2010 and 2016.
Pressures in the teacher labour market: What are
the policy options?
-
In response to these challenges, the government has
placed a great deal of focus on teacher recruitment.
This includes policies such as bursaries of up to £30k
(tax-free) in some subjects. However, so far there is no
evidence these have led to an increase in recruitment. With
about around 8 per cent of teachers leaving the profession each
year, greater emphasis on retention from the
government would be far more fruitful.
- Student loan reimbursement programmes for teachers in the
early stages of their careers, in subjects where there are
shortages, have been piloted. However, this system is complex,
and will be of little benefit to most teachers at the start of
their career.
-
Efforts by successive governments to tackle teacher
workload have been insufficient. Working hours have
been continually increasing. EPI analysis shows teachers are
working longer than many other developed countries.
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There is, however, strong empirical evidence that
retention rates can be improved with targeted financial
incentives in shortage subjects. Schools currently
have the freedom to make such payments, but are presently
constrained by pressures around budgets and overall teacher
pay.
-
If the government intends to end the public sector pay
cap for schools, it should therefore consider targeting any
additional funds on salary supplements for early career
teachers in shortage subjects.
Commenting on the analysis, Natalie Perera, Executive
Director and Head of Research at the Education Policy Institute,
said:
“This analysis raises several concerns for teaching quality
and the future sustainability of the workforce. While government
efforts to boost recruitment are to be welcomed, growing
shortages are likely to be tackled most effectively by focusing
on retaining the existing workforce”.
“Some subjects in particular are seeing acute shortages in
the number of quality teachers. If the government wishes to ease
these growing pressures and safeguard educational standards, it
should consider policies which offer financial and other
incentives to teachers in these subjects early on in their
career”.
