Statistics
published today by the Department for Education show that
teacher numbers have fallen. Geoff Barton, General Secretary of
the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
It is very worrying to see that the number of
teachers in our schools has actually fallen at a time when the
number of pupils is increasing. We are already in the midst of a
long-running teacher recruitment and retention crisis and this is
set to worsen unless action is taken as a matter of urgency. The
number of pupils in our schools is set to rise by about 500,000
over the next five or six years and unless we can attract more
people into the teaching profession, and retain them, it is hard
to see how schools will be able to put teachers in front of
classes. This situation represents a serious threat to
educational standards, particularly in schools in areas of high
disadvantage where it is often most difficult to recruit
teachers.
The government spent too long in a state of denial
about this situation and, having finally woken up to the problem,
has simply not done enough to address it. Teacher workload is a
major factor and has been driven largely by an endless series of
government reforms which are still working their way through the
system. This has to be a salutary lesson for the future in
ensuring that reforms are managed in a better way.
Teacher pay is also a factor. The real value of
teachers salaries has fallen over the past eight years
because of a series of pay caps and pay freezes and this cannot
go on. Teachers deserve a decent pay rise which addresses the
erosion of salaries and the government must put its money where
its mouth is and ensure it provides the funding that schools will
need to afford a pay increase. Anything less would be a sleight
of hand.
