Commenting on analysis from the National Foundation for
Educational Research (NFER), examining government plans to
recruit 6,500 new teachers, Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of
the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“This report reflects the scale of the challenge the new
government faces in meeting its target to recruit 6,500 new
teachers.
“While we welcome that commitment, the stark reality is that even
this number of teachers is unlikely to be sufficient to address
the level of shortages which schools and colleges are currently
experiencing.
“This is the result of years of pay erosion and workload
pressures created by the previous government's dismal record of
expecting ever more of schools and colleges while failing to
provide them with sufficient funding and resources.
“Improved pay and conditions across the profession are the
absolute prerequisites for any strategy. It is vital to ensure
that salaries are competitive enough to attract recruits and then
retain them.
“The new government has taken a step in the right direction with
this year's school teachers' pay award but this will need to be
followed up by further improvements in future years.
“And it is extremely regrettable that it has failed to fund pay
increases for teachers in colleges where there are also
significant shortages and which are vital to the government's aim
of boosting skills. We call upon the Treasury to remedy this
inequity as a matter of urgency.”
