Responding to Ofsted’s annual report, which
recognises that many problems in education are being caused or
exacerbated by recruitment issues, Julie McCulloch, Director of
Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This is a deeply worrying report. The Chief Inspector highlights
the major challenges faced by the education sector, many of which
have become more acute as a result of the government’s inadequate
response to the growing recruitment and retention crisis in our
schools and colleges.
“As the report outlines, this is having an impact in all
education settings, from early years through to further
education. The government has consistently missed its own
recruitment targets, managing only 59% of its target for trainee
secondary teachers for this academic year, resulting in
significant staff shortages in schools. The use of non-specialist
teachers is becoming more commonplace and, while they do the best
they can to teach subjects in which they are not specialists,
this represents a clear threat to educational standards. The
report also highlights the increasing difficulty in attracting
and retaining support staff, including teaching assistants. This
particularly affects children with special educational needs, who
often rely on this additional support in the classroom.
“Staff shortages are a result of teaching becoming a less
attractive profession. Teacher pay has fallen in real-terms by a
fifth since 2010, while continued underfunding has increased
workload at the same time. These fundamental problems must be
addressed if the government has any ambitions to improve
education.”
