Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Department's teacher recruitment targets overly focus on initial training routes
Conclusion
We were interested to understand why the Department only has targets for those starting initial teacher training in primary and secondary schools, when this is just one of several entry routes into teaching.27 In the year to November 2023, 41% of secondary teachers entering the workforce were newly qualified teachers, with 39% returners to the state-funded sector, 13% new to the state-funded sector and 7% being deferred newly-qualified teachers. Overall teacher numbers are also impacted by those staying, with the number of qualified teachers leaving secondary schools starting to increase to pre-pandemic levels – 19,860 in 2022–23.28 The Department acknowledged that it had focussed on initial teacher training targets, despite considering other routes within its teacher workforce modelling to calculate these targets. The Department told us it wants to tell the “full story” and recognised the need to change the way it publicly presents other routes into teaching to better reflect how critical these are alongside initial teaching training.29 Written evidence from Education Support proposed that, in the same way that the Department has a teacher trainee target, it should set targets for the numbers of teachers, leaders and support staff it needs to retain as a key performance indicator.30
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.4 The department continues to review the balance between recruitment and retention measures to ensure that resources are targeted where they will have the greatest impact. In schools, this includes its current approach of setting clear, evidence-informed targets for entrants through different postgraduate ITT routes, considering whether to adopt this target setting approach in future years, and refining the approach to workforce planning. In colleges, the department is undertaking an evaluation of the Targeted Retention Incentive to better understand its impact on the workforce. The department’s approach ensures that interventions are based on the latest workforce data, reflect government priorities and are informed by wider context, e.g. the latest labour market trends.