New education secretary Kit Malthouse has been urged to prioritise teacher shortages as new analysis suggests the government could recruit nearly 6,000 fewer secondary trainees than required this year.
It would mean ministers missing recruitment targets for the ninth time in ten years. Teacher retention rates are also worsening with a big jump in vacancies this year, suggesting the crisis is really starting to bite.
A Schools Week analysis of the latest recruitment data published on August 15 – a fortnight before schools reopened – suggests only 73 per cent of this year’s postgraduate initial teacher training (PGITT) secondary target will be met.
