Since before Covid, the media has been reporting gloomy predictions of a recruitment crisis in education. In 2019, teacher training targets were missed for the seventh year running and the government’s response was to publish the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy. As we approach 2023, it is clear that it has failed and the predicted crisis is upon us.
A survey undertaken by the National Governance Association (NGA) in September found that just over half (53 per cent) of schools and trusts were struggling to recruit teaching staff — an increase from 29 per cent in 2021. The proportion of schools struggling to recruit support staff had more than doubled from 22 per cent last year to 53 per cent this year. And all-through schools (81 per cent), alternative provision (73 per cent) and special schools (70 per cent) were the most likely to struggle with teacher recruitment.
What these statistics don’t show is the impact of the recruitment challenges at a human level. The expectations of children, parents, carers, governors, trustees, local authorities, dioceses, regional commissioners and Ofsted remain undimmed. They don’t want to hear excuses. Rightly so, but how can school leaders meet these expectations without the staff to deliver them? And what impact is it having on them to keep trying?
