After a slight easing to teacher recruitment and retention challenges during the pandemic, teacher supply is yet again a major issue for schools in England. Recruitment of trainees into postgraduate initial teacher training was worse in 2022 than before the pandemic, while the number of vacancies schools posted in 2022 was higher than before the pandemic.
But what are the implications for schools and pupils when large numbers of teachers leave and recruiting teachers is challenging? When we talk of ‘teacher shortages’, what do we mean?
Today NFER has published new research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, that provides insights into the implications of recruitment challenges schools face for pupils’ education and learning. The report is based on responses to two senior leader surveys we conducted in 2020 and 2021 that asked about their experiences of recruiting teachers and what strategies they use to mitigate the impact when recruitment is challenging.
