Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Second Report - Teacher recruitment, training and retention
Education Committee
HC 119
Published 17 May 2024
Recommendations
11
Accepted
Para 72
Review 'golden handcuffs' option and commission research on improving teacher retention.
Recommendation
Though concern remains about the retention of teachers in receipt of bursary funding. Evidence tells us that the current structure of bursaries offers sufficient value for money in terms of recruitment and retention, given that retention rates are similar for …
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Government Response Summary
The government is offering a Targeted Retention Incentive of up to £6,000 for specific subject teachers in disadvantaged schools. They committed to keeping eligibility criteria under review and are conducting full evaluations to assess any postponement effects.
Department for Education
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17
Accepted
Para 85
Expand Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship and introduce non-graduate teaching apprenticeship by Autumn 2024.
Recommendation
The Department should continue to promote and expand the existing Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship, setting intake targets for each academic year. The Department should also move forward with plans to introduce a non-graduate teaching apprenticeship, specifically for experienced non-teaching staff with …
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Government Response Summary
The Department will continue to promote and expand the existing Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship, setting intake targets for each academic year. The Department will also move forward with plans to introduce a non-graduate teaching apprenticeship, specifically for experienced non-teaching staff with further detail on this published by Autumn 2024.
Department for Education
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29
Accepted
Para 126
Require annual review of Early Career Framework content and expansion of subject elements
Recommendation
The Department should continue to consult and engage with teachers for feedback on the Early Career Framework. We recommend that the content of the Early Career Framework is reviewed annually by the Department, and that duplicate material continues to be …
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Government Response Summary
The government commits to updating the Early Career Framework as part of a new Teacher Training Entitlement and Excellence in Leadership Training Programme, aiming to ensure high-quality professional development for teachers.
Department for Education
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Conclusions (25)
2
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 25
Our evidence suggests that recruitment and retention issues occur at every stage of education, from primary school through to further education. However, the challenge increases as we move up the phases with more vacancies and a greater retention challenge in secondary than in primary and again in post 16. The …
Government Response Summary
The government stated it already accounts for pupil demographic trends and estimates demand for primary and secondary schools (including post-16 provision), explaining why the further education workforce is tracked separately and stating this separation will continue.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
We welcome the Department’s approach to setting postgraduate initial teacher training recruitment targets using the Teacher Workforce Model. However, changes need to be made if a more holistic picture of the demand for teachers across all subjects and phases of education is to be achieved. The Department should ensure that …
Government Response Summary
The government stated it already accounts for pupil demographic trends in its Teacher Workforce Model, which covers primary and secondary (including post-16 within schools), but clarified that further education is estimated separately and will continue to be due to differing factors.
4
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 40
Teacher salaries need to be attractive in order to boost recruitment. We welcome the introduction of a £30k starting salary as a step towards improved competitiveness. However, it is clear that this salary will have to be increased in the coming years if it is to remain competitive. Whilst initiatives …
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation by detailing recent actions to boost teacher attractiveness, including a 5.5% pay award, a £233 million financial incentives package for 2025/26 (bursaries and scholarships), and targeted retention incentives for 2024/25 in shortage subjects.
6
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 51
We welcome the most recent pay agreement for support staff; however, we have heard persistent concerns that low pay is resulting in difficulty recruiting and retaining staff in these vital roles which help both teachers and pupils and provide essential support to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
Government Response Summary
The government stated its approach to schools funding already considers support staff wage growth and its impact on school budgets, which is factored into funding decisions, referencing technical notes and the Core Schools Budget Grant.
9
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 63
Where available, bursaries and scholarships improve teacher recruitment. We heard strong evidence that bursaries should be targeted where they will be most effective, such as for subjects with longstanding under-recruitment, subjects where demand is expected to increase and subjects that have particularly competitive job markets. However, we also heard concerns …
Government Response Summary
The government highlights a 5.5% teacher pay award and nearly £1.1 billion in funding for schools to cover teacher and support staff pay offers, but does not directly address the conclusion's points on targeting bursaries.
13
Conclusion
Accepted
The Department should also monitor the attrition of those who receive these payments. This would improve understanding of whether there is a “postponement effect” amongst recipients, where they leave the profession once these payments stop. (Paragraph 74) Alternative routes into teaching
Government Response Summary
The government committed to completing full evaluations of the Targeted Retention Incentive and previous Levelling Up Premium offers. This evaluation will specifically attempt to assess any 'postponement effect' on teacher retention.
16
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 84
We welcome the Department’s plan to introduce a non-graduate apprenticeship, specifically for experienced non-teaching staff alongside the existing graduate apprenticeship, as an opportunity to recruit non-graduates who are already working within the education sector into teaching. However, we are concerned that fewer than 1000 people have taken an apprenticeship route …
Government Response Summary
The Department will continue to promote and expand the existing Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship, setting intake targets for each academic year. The Department will also move forward with plans to introduce a non-graduate teaching apprenticeship, specifically for experienced non-teaching staff with further detail on this published by Autumn 2024.
22
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 99
We recognise the need to use all available options if teacher recruitment is going to increase in England. This must include international teachers, and efforts should be made to ease the pathway for international teachers to be recruited and to teach in English schools. For the teaching of Modern foreign …
Government Response Summary
The Department states it values international teachers and has already launched an online service to make it easier for them to apply for QTS in England, and continues to work with international organizations and governments to promote teaching in England.
23
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 100
We were encouraged by the ‘Apply for Qualified Teacher Status in England’ digital service launched in February 2023. We would like an update and review of the success of this service in response to this report.
Government Response Summary
The Department states it values international teachers and has already launched an online service to make it easier for them to apply for QTS in England, and continues to work with international organizations and governments to promote teaching in England.
28
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 125
Criticisms of the Early Career Framework (ECF) such as repetition, lack of subject focus and the additional burden for mentors need to be addressed. We welcome action which has already been taken by the Department to tackle these issues, including reviewing the content of the Framework and removing duplicated material.
Government Response Summary
The government commits to updating the Early Career Framework as part of introducing a Teacher Training Entitlement and an Excellence in Leadership Training Programme, aiming to ensure teachers have access to up-to-date professional development.
31
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 137
The opportunity to partake in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is crucial to teacher retention; we recognise, however, that pressure of workload and lack of spare time limits teachers’ engagement with CPD. We consider issues relating to teachers’ workload further in chapter 6.
Government Response Summary
The government has launched a new online service, 'Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff,' based on user research to enhance resources for workload reduction and wellbeing. It plans to continue adding new resources and promoting the service.
39
Conclusion
Accepted
We have significant concerns about the negative impacts of subject specific teacher shortages. These include compromising the quality of teaching where subjects are being taught by teachers without subject expertise and the reduction of subject provision where schools do not have sufficient specialist teaching capacity. We also heard that lack …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges teacher shortages and outlines ongoing efforts to improve recruitment and retention, including addressing workload, offering retention payments for maths teachers, and providing bursaries and scholarships for ITT courses, with a focus on shortage subjects like languages.
42
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 175
As discussed previously in this report, we have heard convincing evidence about the importance of interventions such as bursaries in targeting recruitment to subjects where there are teacher shortages. Bursaries should continue to be targeted towards subjects where there are shortages and shortages subjects should continually be reviewed to ensure …
Government Response Summary
The government outlines its existing annual review process for bursaries, noting it already prioritises STEM subjects and has recently increased language bursaries and reintroduced others. It states budget limitations necessitate prioritisation and does not commit to further increases in lower-valued bursaries as requested.
44
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 181
The Department should also analyse the impact of the Levelling Up Premium and Early Career Payments. There should be a particular focus on their regional impact, for example, to find out whether recruitment in places nearby education investment areas has been negatively impacted or resulted in ‘brain drain.’
Government Response Summary
The government has accepted, stating it is completing full evaluations of the Targeted Retention Incentive and previous Levelling Up Premium offers, specifically including the evaluation of geographical impact and postponement effects.
48
Conclusion
Accepted
Beyond the specific subject knowledge enhancement programmes that may be delivered within initial teacher training, upskilling is a useful and effective way for non-specialist teachers to gain the necessary knowledge to teach certain subjects once qualified. This approach has the potential to significantly mitigate the impact of subject specific teacher …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of upskilling and commits to encouraging subject associations to support schools in accessing training for upskilling. It also states that new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will facilitate networking and training access.
49
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 202
Upskilling should be used as a mitigation across subjects experiencing teacher shortages. For subjects such as Maths, a compulsory subject that has experienced persistent shortages in teacher supply it is even more pertinent that mitigations such as upskilling are used to manage teacher shortages.
Government Response Summary
The government highlights its existing Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) programme, which is available for ITT applicants in mathematics and other shortage subjects. It also points to the Maths Hubs programme, which provides school-to-school support and training for current maths teachers.
50
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 203
The Department should work with subject associations where there are current teacher shortages to coordinate support and funding efforts with the aim of developing upskilling opportunities across these shortage subjects.
Government Response Summary
The government has accepted, committing to encourage subject associations to continue supporting schools with upskilling training. New Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will also be established to facilitate networking and access to training.
51
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 208
Since the pandemic, flexible working has been widely embraced across different professions and sectors of the economy. However, this has not been replicated in the education sector. If the education sector is to remain competitive, particularly in the recruitment of graduates, more must be done to increase opportunities for flexible …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of flexible working and states it is a priority, outlining ongoing efforts such as promoting a flexible working toolkit, running communication campaigns, utilizing flexible working ambassador schools, and monitoring flexible working levels through surveys.
52
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 215
The Department have told us they will put flexibility at the heart of the new recruitment and retention strategy. This should include the promotion of existing approaches to flexibility that have been proven to be successful such as job shares and part-time working. However, it is clear that the education …
Government Response Summary
The government states it is already expanding and enabling flexible working through clarifying PPA time, promoting the flexible working toolkit via various campaigns and ambassador schools, and monitoring flexible working levels.
53
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 220
We welcome the Department’s initial efforts to support flexible working through the Flexible Working Toolkit launched in summer 2023. However, with only 15% of senior leaders aware of its existence, and even fewer - only 4% - reporting that they found it useful, far more needs to be done to …
Government Response Summary
The government highlights its ongoing efforts to promote the flexible working toolkit through sector bulletins, campaigns, ambassador schools, and webinars, noting an increase in flexible working arrangements despite acknowledging there is further to go.
54
Conclusion
Accepted
The Department should redouble efforts to promote the Flexible Working Toolkit with school leaders, with flexible working ambassador schools playing a central role in this. In addition, this should be backed up with a strategy to monitor the extent to which schools are offering flexible working. We ask that the …
Government Response Summary
The government details its existing efforts to promote the flexible working toolkit via campaigns, ambassador schools, and webinars. It also states it already monitors flexible working levels through existing surveys.
58
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 240
We welcome the Department’s efforts to reduce workload through the Workload Reduction Toolkit. However, we are concerned about the lack of awareness of the Toolkit despite being published over five years ago. If more progress is to be made the Toolkit needs to be made accessible and easy to use …
Government Response Summary
The government has launched a new 'Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff' digital service, which updates and improves the previous Workload Reduction Toolkit to offer better navigability, speed of access, and links to other helpful information.
59
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 241
The Department must continue to promote and build on existing efforts to reduce teacher workload. This should include condensing the Workload Reduction Toolkit, so it is more easily accessible for school staff. We endorse the Workload Reduction Taskforce recommendation that the DfE should “commit to enhancing knowledge and accessibility of …
Government Response Summary
The government has launched a new 'Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff' digital service that replaces the Workload Reduction Toolkit, featuring improved navigability and accessibility. It commits to adding new resources and promoting the service to schools and trusts.
67
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 274
Though the issue of poor pupil behaviour it not new, it has become worse since the pandemic with more disruptive pupil behaviour, school exclusions and suspensions. Poor behaviour not only undermines pupils learning and a positive classroom culture, but it also impacts teacher recruitment and retention. Reports of worsening behaviour …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the worsening of pupil behaviour and its impact, highlighting existing initiatives such as statutory attendance guidance, support for SEND pupils, and the work of National Behaviour Advisers, as mechanisms to address these issues.
68
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 277
The Department needs to reinforce the importance of positive and effective partnerships between schools, pupils and parents in addressing and improving pupil behaviour and attendance. This is particularly important for special educational needs and disabilities pupils who represent an increasing proportion of pupils.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the critical nature of school, pupil, and family relationships for behaviour and attendance, stating that existing statutory guidance, support for SEND pupils, and resources like Behaviour Advisers and a parent guide already reinforce this importance.