‘Teacher recruitment and retention in England remain in a perilous state, posing a substantial risk to the quality of education.’
Unfilled teacher vacancy levels are at their highest rates since records began in 2010, with a new report warning June’s Spending Review is the government’s “last chance” to hit its target to recruit 6,500 new teachers.
More than six in every 1,000 teaching jobs were left unfilled last year, double the pre-pandemic rate and six times higher than in 2010/11.
The NFER report found 94% of teachers considering leaving in 2023/24 cited high workload as a key factor.
In addition, pupil behaviour has emerged as one of the fastest-growing contributors to workload since the pandemic.
The educational charity has also urged the government to increase teacher pay beyond 3% in 2025/26.
It also calls for a 6.1% pay rise from 2026/27 to 2028/29 and a review into reducing workload related to pupil behaviour.
Jack Worth, School Workforce Lead at NFER, and co-author of the report, said: “Teacher recruitment and retention in England remain in a perilous state, posing a substantial risk to the quality of education.
“The time for half measures is over. Fully funded pay increases that make teacher pay more competitive are essential to keeping teachers in the classroom and attracting new recruits.
“The upcoming Spending Review provides the government with the ideal opportunity to show its long-term commitment to increase the attractiveness of teaching.”
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Educational Union, said: “The core drivers of teachers leaving the profession are unchanged: workload, funding, excessive accountability measures, and below-inflation pay.”
He added: “The government was elected in the hope it would value education. The government has a limited window if it hopes to solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis within this parliament. The clock is ticking.”
The NEU is currently carrying out an indicative ballot of its members to gauge willingness to strike over the government’s unfunded recommendation of a 2.8% pay award for 2025/26.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
