MPs to investigate teacher recruitment and retention

The Education Committee will be examining policies to improve recruitment, training and retention in the teaching workforce, as well as the government’s manifesto pledge to hire 6,500 new teachers. 

The Committee will question experts in this field on 16 December, exploring topics such as the best approaches for recruiting new teachers, effectiveness of incentives to stay in the profession, training and career development, workload pressures and shortages in certain subjects. 

There have been criticisms of the Government for shifting the goal posts on the 6,500 pledge. Since it was made, Ministers have said the figure will not apply to primary school teachers, and will apply to all new teachers rather than just those in subjects with the most pressing shortages. 

Organisations including the National Audit Office and the National Education Union have criticised the Government for a lack of clarity of how the figure will be split between different types of schools, including special schools and colleges, and at what rate the number of new teachers will increase over the course of this Parliament. 

Education Committee Chair Helen Hayes MP said: “To be a teacher should be to have a rewarding, respected and sustainable career. So why are we losing so many from the workforce every year? What continues to cause teachers to leave the profession in their droves in search of another path? This Committee will question experts to understand what the Government should be doing to improve teacher retention rates.  

“We will also examine the Government’s drive to recruit 6,500 new teachers. Recruitment and retention must be considered together because pouring more water into a leaking bucket won’t solve this persistent challenge alone."