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Schools in England

The evidence found on this page relates to teacher supply in schools in England. 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, school leaders, leaders of Multi-Academy Trusts, professional bodies, providers of professional learning, researchers and practitioners undertaking studies of teacher retention and strategic development to enhance teachers’ working lives.

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.

What’s behind the teacher workforce crisis? A look at current challenges and future solutions

Summary:

This recorded seminar (2 hours) includes presentations of research into teacher recruitment and retention funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The projects investigate the trends in teachers’ pay, subject shortages and regional challenges, teacher workload and wellbeing, the impacts of Ofsted inspections, the legacy of Covid19 and the impacts of academisation....
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Only half of required number of trainee secondary teachers in England recruited

Summary:

The Guardian newspaper article provided a view of the shortages in initial teacher training recruitment in 2023, when half of the required number of trainee secondary school teachers in England were recruited for the 2023-24 training year. The article reports on figures from the National Education Union (NEU) and the...
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Teacher recruitment, training and retention: Evidence to Education Committee

Summary:

The report explores the multiple factors that impact on teachers’ decisions to leave the profession. There is a specific focus on teachers’ pay but the report also identifies the range of issues that need to inform policy to address the problem. At the time of reporting, 1 in 5 new...
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ITT core content framework and early career framework: call for evidence

Summary:

This call for evidence from the Department for Education (DfE) was intended to inform a review of the Early Career Framework (ECF) and initial teacher training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF), both published in 2019. The ECF set out the entitlements to professional learning and mentor support for the first...
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Ofsted’s 2023 Priorities for Schools and Further Education and Skills

Summary:

This blog post outlines Ofsted's key priorities for inspections, highlighting significant workforce pressures in schools struggling to recruit and retain teachers and noting the importance of high-quality teacher training and development. The statement emphasises that many schools and colleges face substantial challenges in securing a highly skilled workforce and that...
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1970s working conditions in the 2020s: Modernising the professional lives of teachers for the 21st Century

Summary:

The report examines the reasons why so many secondary school teachers and leaders in the state sector leave the profession, and what would encourage them to stay. It focuses particularly on the reasons why there are greater challenges in retaining secondary school teachers rather than primary, and the ways in...
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Golden Thread or Gilded Cage? An analysis of Department for Education support for the continuing professional development of teachers

Summary:

The report was prepared by the UCET Continuing Professional Development Forum to examine the strengths, weaknesses and unforeseen impacts of the Early Career Framework (ECF) and National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) after the first year of the ECF. Major concerns are expressed with the degree of repetition between the ECF and...
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Teaching as a high-status profession: Improving teacher supply. Recommendations for the education white paper 2022

Summary:

this report presents findings from the investigation carried out by the APPG Teacher supply SIG into the actins needed to support a high-status and sustainable teaching profession. Recommendations include that policy liaison is needed between policymakers and professional bodies to establish coherence and long-term planning for sustaining the profession; there...
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Educational Isolation and the challenge of ‘place’ for securing and sustaining a high-quality teacher supply

Summary:

This chapter explores how location is an important factor that impacts on recruiting and sustaining quality teachers in England. ‘Educational Isolation’ is used as a framework for examining the ways in which a school’s location in disadvantaged rural and coastal contexts can limit its maintenance of a quality workforce. Educationally...
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