teacher recruitment | Schools Week

UCAS teacher training applications data: 7 things we learned

Applications for teacher training have surged as the pandemic fuels interest in the profession, with new figures showing applicant numbers have reached their highest in at least six years. UCAS data shows a 16.7 per cent annual increase in applicants during the 2020 recruitment cycle for courses in England and Wales. Experts said the figures […]

Let schools hire NQTs on short-term deals to solve recruitment blockage

Schools should be given extra cash to appoint newly qualified teachers for short-term stints to cover any staff illnesses next year amid fears a downturn in job vacancies could push new entrants away from the profession. A report published by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation found there have been more than 5,000 fewer job adverts in […]

Three-in-four teachers feel they are less valued

Three quarters of teachers believe their work is less valued now than it was five years ago. According to a survey, run by YouGov on behalf of the Chartered College of Teaching, the majority of teachers also said they wouldn’t be likely to recommend the job as a career to youngsters. The findings come amid […]

Hinds defends extension of trainee teacher bursaries to more 2:2 graduates

The education secretary Damian Hinds has defended a move to relax the eligibility criteria for government teacher training bursaries, and admitted he’s looking at the “simplicity” of routes into the profession to encourage more graduates to join. The Department for Education announced on Thursday that bursaries for graduates training to be music, history, design and […]

A ‘marginal gains’ approach to teacher recruitment is not enough

Short-term tinkering after a decade of disruption will not reverse dwindling numbers, warns David Spendlove. The government needs to think hard about why the profession is becoming less appealing The recently published School Workforce in England data for 2017 showed a continuation in the downward trend, with 5,300 (1.2 per cent) fewer teachers than the […]

Teacher supply agency fees are justified

Teacher recruitment agencies play a vital role in short-notice school staffing, argues Samantha Hurley, who says they deserve to charge for the service Headteachers have the freedom to recruit directly should they wish to. However, the reality is that many rely on the skills, experience and networks of professional recruiters to ensure that classes have […]

Funding rules prevent MATs from building affordable homes for teachers

School leaders want to offer teachers accommodation to help solve the recruitment crisis, but, as ever, finding the money is too hard. Over the last six months The Harris Federation, one of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts, which runs 44 schools in London, has been working on a project to build up to 100 homes […]

Fixing the madness of the teacher transfer window

Welcome to recruitment silly season! It is the time of year when everyone wanting to move schools has to do so quickly, because resigning after the end of May means there’s no further option for change in 2018, and where headteachers crumble after months-long negotiations to keep a valuable staff member in their job falls […]

Five ways the DfE has damaged teacher recruitment

Teacher training has always been too important to dabble with, as the implications of not getting the very best teachers in front of children in schools will affect the future of our country and society, explains Professor David Spendlove We should all be seriously concerned about the Department for Education’s two recent communications on initial […]