Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 37
37
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 150
Addressing teacher shortages requires both recruitment and retention, supported by attrition data
Conclusion
High attrition rates in shortage subjects mean that a two-pronged approach is needed to address subject specific teacher shortages. This should look at the retention of existing teachers in addition to the recruitment of new teachers. Reliable data on the number of teachers leaving by subject and the reason for their departure are also needed, to better understand attrition rates.
Government Response Summary
The government stated it currently publishes some subject leaver rates and will explore publishing subject-level leaver rates from the School Workforce Census. However, it does not publish reasons for leaving at a subject level due to small sample sizes.
Paragraph Reference:
150
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
We currently publish subject leaver rates within the annual postgraduate ITT targets publication4. These are calculated to aid the Teacher Workforce Model supply calculations and the residual PGITT targets. We will explore publishing subject level leaver rates as part of future School Workforce Census publications. The Department already collects survey data from the Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders5 longitudinal study on the reasons teachers give for considering leaving, and for leaving for those that leave teaching between survey waves. This is published annually at national level. We do not publish reasons for leaving at subject level due to small sample sizes. We also collect data on the FE workforce via the FE workforce data collection, which goes out to providers annually. This provides the department with important information on the sector, such as demographics, pay data, vacancies, and subject taught. Teacher vacancy rates are published online with subject and regional breakdowns.