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Further Education in England

The evidence found on this page relates to teacher supply in Further Education in England and Wales. It is a resource for professional and research communities concerned with the recruitment and retention of teachers and support for their professional development. As such it is relevant for policy-makers, leaders, professional bodies, providers of professional learning, researchers and practitioners undertaking studies of teacher retention and strategic development to enhance teachers’ wellbeing.

The majority of the evidence provided is open access. It includes policy documents, reports, academic journal articles, books and chapters, briefings and blogs, and news and commentary published since 2019.

Each summary is labelled with its resource type and tagged with one or more themes. You can use the filters below to show only the evidence of a particular resource type or on a particular theme, and selecting a tag on any summary will take you to all resources sharing that theme. The search bar covers the full library, so results may include evidence relating to Further Education as well as schools; the sector is shown on each result. Each summary links to the original source where it is available.

Career Motivations and Perceptions of teaching 16–19-year-olds in England and Wales

Summary:

This study explores what motivates 16–19yearolds in England and Wales to consider teaching careers, finding generally low interest—especially among students in technical and STEM fields. It highlights how perceptions of workload, pay, and status deter young people from entering further education teaching....
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Education Workforce Summary

Summary:

This summary report synthesises findings across early years, school support staff, FE teachers, and school teachers. It identifies shared challenges including pay competitiveness and career progression, with FE teacher pay highlighted as having fallen rapidly in recent years....
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The Government Response to Teacher Recruitment, Training and Retention

Summary:

The official government pledge to expand flexible working and confirmed the continuation of the Teacher Mentoring Programme (TMP) to support 1,800 FE early-career teachers by March 2025....
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Building a Stronger Further Education College Workforce

Summary:

This mixed-methods research, investigates barriers to recruiting and retaining FE teachers in Construction, Engineering, and Digital subjects. It finds that pay disparities with industry and schools, high workload centered on administrative tasks, limited pay progression, and inadequate support for new recruits are key factors undermining FE teacher supply....
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Further Education Workforce 2022/2023

Summary:

Provides data on FE workforce size, composition, and vacancies. Shows stable workforce numbers but continued recruitment challenges....
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Teacher Recruitment, Training and Retention

Summary:

This report identifies a critical crisis in teacher supply, noting that FE and secondary education are the hardest-hit sectors due to pay disparities and increasing workload. It calls for a more holistic workforce model that specifically addresses the unique challenges of the post-16 sector, including the need for better data...
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Considering the Mystery of Professionalism: Further Education in the UK

Summary:

This paper analyzes the evolving and often contested concept of professionalism within the UK Further Education (FE) sector following the structural changes introduced by the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act. address. It argues that, despite decades of policy reform, teacher recruitment and retention as a contextual challenge linked to...
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Teacher Recruitment and Retention Challenges in the Further Education and Skills Sector

Summary:

It analyses global strategies for addressing chronic teacher recruitment and retention shortages within the further education sector, focusing on improving workload management and professional status. Key solutions include shifting from short-term fixes to long-term systemic reforms, such as enhancing pay parity and fostering collaborative professional development....
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Transforming Teacher Work: Teacher Recruitment and Retention after the Pandemic

Summary:

This book examines the systemic crisis in the English teaching sector across all age phases, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic amplified long-standing issues such as excessive performance management and poor staff mental health. Based on teacher and leader experiences, the authors suggest a new policy to better support and retain...
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