Labour slams government handling of schools as teacher recruitment falls 20%

Stephen Morgan has slammed the government’s “disastrous” management of schools, arguing that the Tories have been “actively dissuading” people from joining the sector after the latest teacher training data showed new entrants down 20%.

Department for Education (DfE) statistics released today revealed that the number of new entrants to initial teacher training fell by a fifth in the 2022/23 training year – down from 36,159 in 2021/22 to 28,991 this year.

Commenting on the figures, the shadow schools minister said: “The Conservatives’ disastrous management of our schools is not only driving existing teachers from the profession but also actively dissuading new recruits from joining.

“For new recruitment to be down a fifth in a year shows the chilling effect that this government is having on the teaching profession. Labour’s national excellence programme, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools, will recruit more than 6,500 new teachers so that every child gets a brilliant state education.”

The statistics revealed that recruitment for all subjects at secondary and primary school level was 71% of the DfE’s annual target – a decrease of 26 percentage points on 2021/22. The government attributed the fall to the reduced number of new entrants and an increase in its annual target.

Recruitment for secondary school teachers reached just 59% of the government’s target, compared to 79% for the previous training year. The government’s target for secondary school teacher training has been missed in nine of the last ten years.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We understand that teacher recruitment is challenging, which is why we have taken action to raise the profile of this important and prestigious profession.

“For teacher trainees in 2023, bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 in key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics are available. We also remain committed to raising the starting salary for teachers to £30,000 next year.”

The National Education Union (NEU) announced in October that it was balloting its members in England and Wales on strike action over pay. The ballot opened on October 28th and will run until January 13th.

Joint NEU general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney declared that the “strength of feeling” among teachers “should not be underestimated”.

They added: “Pay, along with workload, lays at the root of a recruitment and retention crisis, which should be of deep concern to the government but about which they have been completely ineffective.”

Fellow teachers’ union NASUWT has also launched a ballot of its members in England and Wales, which closes on January 9th. General secretary Patrick Roach said: “That this is the first national ballot for industrial action we have undertaken since 2011 is an indication of how dire the situation has become for teachers.”

“It is unacceptable that teachers are being forced to work longer and harder than ever but are being rewarded less and less in real terms. We believe enough is enough, and we are urging all members to vote in favour of industrial action to secure a path to the better deal they deserve on pay,” he added.

A separate ballot of NASUWT members in Scotland closed on November 21st, with more than 92% voting in favour of strikes on a turnout of almost 64%. The union announced industrial action commencing December 7th and 8th, along with a programme of action short of strike action from December 9th.