Norfolk education rep: teaching needs to be made 'more attractive' to avoid fall in standards
There are "growing signs" of teacher shortages in schools having a negative impact on the quality of education for pupils, a report's warned
Pupils from poorer backgrounds and those with additional needs will be let down, unless the teaching profession is made 'more attractive' - according to an education union rep in Norfolk.
Larger class sizes and a greater reliance on unqualified staff in schools has become about in schools thanks to issue recruiting and retaining teachers, according to a national education charity.
"Will likely result in a serious decline in education standards"
Scott Lyons also works for the National Education Union in the county:
"Teachers are leaving due to unmanageable workloads, poor pay and for the first time now, pupil behaviour has overtaken workload as one of the main issues why people are leaving the profession.
"From our own surveys- we've had 1 in 3 female teachers looking to leave the profession due to that issue.
"If the situation doesn't improve- then we're going to see more teachers leaving and less people joining the profession.
"It's something that will likely result in a serious decline in education standards for so many.
"It could mean that only those in the private sector or those in the public, who can attract the best, are going to be the only ones getting exemplary education in this country."
The report in more detail:
The forthcoming spending review is a "crucial opportunity" for the Government to provide the resources needed to deliver its target to recruit 6,500 more teachers by the end of the parliament, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).
There are "growing signs" of teacher shortages in schools having a negative impact on the quality of education for pupils in England, the report warned.
The number of unfilled teaching vacancies in state schools reached six vacancies per thousand teachers in service in 2023/24 - which is double the pre-pandemic rate, the NFER said.
Meanwhile, 15% of secondary pupils were in classes of more than 30 in 2023/24, up from 10% in 2015/16.
The report comes after Government figures in December showed that the number of entrants to primary school teacher training in England had fallen.
The Department for Education (DfE) data showed that 88% of the Government's initial teacher training (ITT) target for primary schools was reached in 2024/25, down from 94% in 2023/24.
The Government achieved just 62% of its postgraduate secondary ITT recruitment target in 2024/25 - and it did not meet its recruitment targets for 12 out of 17 secondary school subjects.
The NFER has predicted that the pattern of under-recruitment in primary and most secondary school subjects is "likely to continue" in 2025/26.
The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, said: "Sluggish recruitment and persistently high leaving rates have led to real impacts on schools and pupils."
It added: "Schools have also become more reliant on unqualified teachers to fill gaps in their workforce, while non-specialist teachers teaching secondary subjects like maths and physics have become more common."
This year is a "now or never" moment for the Government to demonstrate that it will deliver its manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers, it said.
The report said: "The Government's focus on recruiting 6,500 additional teachers is a welcome acknowledgement of the threat to educational quality posed by the worsening teacher supply challenge in England.
"However, delivering on this ambition by the end of the current parliament will require significant, focused policy action.
"Policy measures also take time to lead to impact in schools, so the time for action is now."
Last year, school teachers in England were offered a fully funded 5.5% pay rise for 2024/25.
The DfE said in December - in written evidence to the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) - that a 2.8% pay rise for teachers in 2025/26 would "maintain the competitiveness of teachers' pay".
But the NFER report has suggested that a 2.8% pay rise from September would be "a missed opportunity to make further gains on teacher pay".
It has called for a 2025/26 pay award for teachers which exceeds 3%, as well as increases in spending on financial incentives targeting shortage subjects.
The Government's spending review should deliver rises in the schools budget necessary to increase teacher pay by at least 6.1% from 2026/27 to 2028/29, the NFER added.
The report also warned that pupil behaviour has become "one of the fastest-growing contributors to teacher workload" since the pandemic, and a lack of access to flexible working arrangements "may be contributing" to teachers leaving the profession.
Report co-author Jack Worth, school workforce lead at the NFER, 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.
"Both schools and the Government are facing budgetary challenges, so making this happen is going to need careful planning."
The NFER report recommended that the Government should develop a new approach for supporting schools to improve pupil behaviour, and it said school leaders should consider adopting a wider range of flexible working practices in their schools to improve teacher retention.
It added that both the Government's curriculum and assessment review and proposed reforms to Ofsted inspections could increase teacher workload and worsen retention if not carefully implemented.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: "These stark findings reflect the severe staffing crisis school leaders are grappling with day in day out.
"When schools do not have the teachers or leaders they need, with the best will in the world, children's education inevitably suffers.
"This report sends a clear message to the Government that it needs to go further and faster in not only doing more to attract new teachers, but also in retaining existing talent and, critically, experience."
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "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.
"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."
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said: "The Government can be in no doubt that a failure to deliver on pay and working conditions will only lead to a further decline in teacher numbers and a deterioration in the quality of education provided to children and young people."
What's the Government doing on this?
In the Autumn budget, the Government announced that funding for schools will rise by over £2.3 billion, this year.
You can read more on what was announced here.