When Labour made its pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers, we made the case that, while recruitment is important, what matters more is how it combines with retention and professional development in every school.
Twelve months later, and as the department for education reveals it’s one-third of the way to meeting this pledge, that case feels even more urgent.
It’s encouraging to see progress on recruitment, but making a real difference for pupils depends on more than just the numbers arriving. What matters is whether sufficient new teachers are supported to stay in the classroom and develop their expertise to best support children.
Retention, development and working cultures are all critical ingredients to the long-term impact of any efforts to boost recruitment.
Some of these new recruits will go on to take up leadership roles across schools and the wider system. Others will choose to stay in the classroom and continue developing as expert practitioners. Both are essential to a strong and effective workforce.
Children need a workforce with staying power, where teachers are not only recruited but supported to deepen their expertise and build experience, particularly in the classrooms where we know great teaching can deliver the greatest benefit.
The past year has seen welcome steps to diversify how people enter teaching, including a new degree apprenticeship, a forthcoming early years route and reforms to the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship (PGTA).
These routes are helping to open up the profession to those who’ve previously been shut out, including career changers, people living in areas without nearby training provision and those who can’t afford to train full-time through a traditional university route.
Teacher apprenticeships are not just expanding access; they also offer a strategic solution to local shortages. By enabling schools to train salaried staff in their own communities, they can attract people with an existing knowledge of and commitment to the school and its community.
Real impact comes from what happens after the offer letter
The early numbers are encouraging: DfE data released last month shows PGTA applications have jumped 13 per cent this cycle to 6,285, while the new degree route drew 942 hopefuls.
But demand still outruns supply. A DfE press release in May stated that 2,800 eligible applicants missed out on a PGTA place this year.
To unlock their full potential, we need to keep apprenticeship funding in line with other ITT routes, cut unnecessary red tape and make it much easier for schools to navigate the system. Without those changes, we risk capping the growth of routes that could do so much more.
Recruitment targets have their place, but real impact comes from what happens after the offer letter. That means helping schools not just to hire teachers but to keep them and support them to thrive.
The landmark report from the Teaching Commission, chaired by Labour peer Baroness Bousted, rightly highlights the critical role of mentoring. Drawing on our research and evidence, it echoes a key message: if mentors are to support and sustain new teachers, they need the time, training and recognition to do so.
A clear career-long development path is vital, as is mentoring, which should be recognised and adopted as a valued career step in its own right.
This includes support and training for mentors, as well as trainees. Professional development never stops, and senior leaders (including headteachers and trust executives) should be encouraged and enabled to continue learning no matter how long they have been in post.
Finally, we need a system where local challenges are met with local solutions. A better understanding of local contexts rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to recruitment will be needed to close these gaps.
By partnering with school trusts across the country, we regularly see how alternative routes and place-based training help build a local and loyal workforce, to the benefit of the pupils they teach.
With a schools white paper expected in the autumn, the government has a real opportunity to bring together and boost a full set of reforms that drive teacher impact, from recruitment and retention to development and deployment and, in doing so, improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged children.
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