The Government is well below target to meet a key commitment (Image: Getty)
is set to miss out on a key manifesto commitment of recruiting 6,500 new teachers, unions have claimed. Staff shortages for teaching in England are currently at their highest rate since records began, according to data from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
rose by more than a fifth in 2023/23 as unfilled posts hit six vacancies per 1,000 teachers last year, a report published by the charity on Thursday shows. This is double the rate pre-pandemic and a staggering six times higher than in 2010/11. “Large” are also on the rise, which typically indicates a lack of high-quality teachers in schools, according to the NFER. The number of secondary school pupils in class sizes over 30 rose by 15% in 2023/24. This is up from 14.7% the previous year and a whopping 10% in 2015/16.
The number of secondary school pupils in class sizes more than 30 rose by 15% in 2023/24 (Image: Getty)
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The UK’s largest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), has expressed concerns that the research suggests Labour risks missing its manifesto pledge of easing teacher recruitment while in power.
“The Government made noises on the campaign trail that they would commit to tackling recruitment and retention. The NFER points to the current trajectory being inadequate to the task,” Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the NEU, told The Telegraph.
“The Government was elected in the hope it would value education. [It] has a limited window if it hopes to solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis within this Parliament. The clock is ticking.”
Another union boss warns the government to make urgent changes as there is “no clear plan for achieving” their target.
Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education (Image: Getty)
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“The Government must heed this warning before it is too late. We are far beyond the point where small steps and half measures can address the scale of the recruitment and retention crisis in education,” Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said.
“The Government’s target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers is a step in the right direction, but there is no clear plan for achieving it. Success will require action on a scale far greater than anything seen so far,” he told the newspaper.
The NFER has called on Labour to release a new plan during the Spring announcement.