ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton today warned that teacher
shortages had reached crisis point as asurvey showed that
more than 9 in 10 schools and colleges in England are
experiencing difficulties in recruiting staff.
The Association of School and College Leaders survey of 766
state-sector school and college headteachers and principals
found:
- 95% have been experiencing difficulty in recruiting teachers,
with 43% saying it is ‘severe’.
- 72% of these are using supply staff to cover for vacancies;
69% are using non-subject specialists to teach classes; and 31%
said pupils were having to be taught in larger classes.
- Physics was the most commonly cited subject where recruitment
was difficult, followed by maths, design and technology,
chemistry and computing.
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) have been experiencing difficulty
with teacher retention. The most common reasons were workload
pressures, which are driven by government underfunding of schools
and colleges together with an excessive accountability system,
and pay levels, which have been eroded by a fifth in real-terms
since 2010.
- 92% also reported difficulties in recruiting support staff –
leaving many schools and colleges with serious challenges across
their workforces.
The survey comes ahead of the expected recommendation of the
teacher pay award for 2022/23 before the end of the summer term.
The government has proposed a two-year pay award of 3% then 2%
for many experienced teachers and leaders – significantly below
RPI inflation running at 11.7% – and this follows a pay freeze in
the current academic year.
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said: “Teacher recruitment and retention has
been extremely difficult for many years but our survey shows it
is currently at crisis point. Many schools and colleges are left
with no alternative but to plug gaps with supply staff and
non-subject specialists. In several cases they have had to
increase class sizes or cut subject options. The crisis extends
to support staff where recruitment is also very difficult.
“Teaching and support staff are the lifeblood of the education
system. Without sufficient numbers, it is hard to see how
government targets to raise standards in literacy and numeracy
can possibly be achieved. In fact, despite the best efforts of
schools and colleges, current educational standards may actually
be at risk.
“The government is fully aware of this problem but its response
over several years has been piecemeal and lacklustre – guided
more by a desire not to spend money than by any sense of
strategy.
“The underlying problem is easy to diagnose – the real value of
teacher and school leader pay has fallen by a fifth since 2010,
and schools and colleges are under huge pressure because of
funding constraints. Teacher training targets are therefore
routinely missed and nearly a third of teachers quit within five
years of qualifying.
“The situation is desperate. The government must work with the
sector on a properly joined-up strategy to improve recruitment
and retention which is underpinned by decent pay and improved
funding for schools and colleges. If we cannot put teachers in
front of classes every other target and aspiration is rendered
meaningless.”
