Not enough being done to address teacher shortages, PAC warns

In a report, the Public Account Committee (PAC) has cautioned that ministers have ‘no plan’ to address the growing teacher shortage in England.

The news comes after it was reported that teacher training targets had been missed for four successive years. However, the select committee has criticised the government for not approaching the concern with enough urgency and has called for an overhaul of the system.

Meg Hiller, PAC committee chair, said: "The Department for Education (DfE) has repeatedly missed its target to fill training places. At the same time, it has remained woefully aloof from concerns raised by front-line staff and freely available evidence."

Currently, the Department for Education (DfE) monitors the national teacher vacancy rate, but does not consider the fact that schools often compensate to cover gaps and place teachers in front of classes. This can involve asking existing staff to take on additional duties and using more supply teachers to cover classes.

Hillier added: "It is a basic point but one worth spelling out for the government's benefit: variations in the supply and quality of teachers at local level can significantly affect pupils' educational attainment and life prospects.

"This highlights the disconnect between real-world problems and a government department whose haphazard approach to teacher training risks putting pupils' futures in jeopardy."
The report warned that national statistics disguised considerable local variations and did not truly reflect the experiences of head teachers in England trying to recruit staff.

It advised the government to draw up a clear plan for teacher supply covering the next three years, detailing how targets will be met and based on better data; to set out how it will talk to school leaders about the recruitment challenges they face; to report back on the extent of teachers taking lessons in which they are not qualified; and to ensure there is clearer information on where applicants may train to become a teacher and how much it costs.

The report, entitled Training New Teachers, said: “From its national vantage point the department does not understand, and shows little curiosity about, the size and extent of teacher shortages around the country and assumes the head teacher will deal with gaps.”

Responding to the report’s findings, Schools minister Nick Gibb said: “We know there are some local challenges, the truth is despite rising pupil numbers and the competitive jobs market a stronger economy has created, more people are entering the teaching profession than leaving it, there are 13,100 more teachers today than when we came to office and the ratio of teachers to pupils is stable with more teachers also choosing to come back to the classroom.”

“All of this is thanks to an aggressive and concerted approach to teacher recruitment including high profile media campaigns, new routes into teaching and generous bursaries."

Read more