The Education Committee today launches a new inquiry into teacher recruitment, training and retention in state-funded English schools.
Schools face huge teacher shortages and in 2021 reported the highest number of vacancies since 2010. Despite a 5% increase in teachers in that period, recruitment has not kept pace with increasing pupil numbers. Recent figures show that the Government has been unable to meet its recruitment targets for trainee secondary teachers: having reached only 59% of the target for trainees recruited for Initial Teacher Training in the year 2022/23, down from 79% in 2021/22.
MPs will investigate the current situation of teacher retention and recruitment, the main factors leading to difficulties in the process and the impact it has on students. This includes assessing how well the current teacher training framework prepares new teachers, and how the English system compares internationally.
