Some teacher retention payments made no difference to retention rates, according to new analysis which suggests the schemes are less effective than previously thought.
But the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER), which ran the study, said retention payments should still be used to boost teacher numbers “as part of a wider strategy”.
The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, examined the effectiveness of five different government schemes piloted since 2018, aimed at improving teacher retention with financial incentives for early career teachers.
The schemes evaluated are: the Maths and Physics Retention Payment (MPRP), Teacher Student Loan Reimbursement (TSLR), Maths Phased Bursary (MPB), Early Career Payment (ECP), and the Levelling Up Premium (LUP).
Each provided additional payments to teachers in shortage secondary subjects, with direct payments for teachers in their first five years and loan reimbursements paid to those in their first 10 years.
Evidence on retention payments ‘mixed’
Previous studies have suggested positive impacts from retention payments. But NFER said its new analysis shows “weaker and often not statistically significant improvements in teacher retention”.
However, Jack Worth, school workforce lead at the NFER, and co-author of the study, said “an underlying level of uncertainty” means “the findings from any one study should be interpreted cautiously and within the context of the wider literature”.
The Levelling Up Premium (LUP), which launched in 2022 with £60 million funding, included payments to new teachers initially of up to £3,000 a year.
But NFER analysis found it had a “modest” reduction in leaving rates, at around one percentage point
“The effect is not statistically significant – suggesting more data would be needed before firm conclusions could be drawn.”
Meanwhile, analysis suggests the early career payment and teacher student loan reimbursement schemes “may have been associated with a slight worsening in retention”.
Overall, the study found the schemes led to a 0.7 percentage point reduction in the rate of teachers leaving, which was deemed “small” and not “statistically significant”.
“Overall, this means our study provides some weak evidence that retention payments improve retention, but it is far from conclusive,” the report added.
“Viewed within the wider literature, it suggests retention payments may be an important tool for improving teacher retention, but the evidence is somewhat mixed.”
Ian Hartwright, head of policy at school leaders’ union NAHT, said retention payments, bursaries and other initiatives “have failed to deliver sufficient new entrants…or act effectively to retain serving professionals”.
Bursaries more cost effective
The analysis simulated the long-term effect retention payments versus bursaries, if the same amount of money was spent on each.
It showed bursaries are “considerably more cost effective”.
The NFER report predicted every additional “teacher year” secured through teacher retention payments would cost around £20,000, compared to between £9-13,000 through bursaries.
The report suggested retention payments could be a “useful additional lever” once bursaries have “reached their practical maximum”, such as matching teacher starting salaries.
There was no strong evidence that retention payments work better for certain teacher groups or schools.
Calls for policy rethink
NFER said its findings show retention payments should be “carefully targeted” and used alongside high bursaries to get “best value”.
Worth added they could “focus on subject shortages” or target schools with more disadvantaged pupils, which often struggle to recruit and retain teachers.
NFER also called for government to gather more evidence on the impact on recruitment and retention interventions.
Julie McCulloch, senior director of strategy and policy at school leaders’ union ASCL, said to improve retention, said the findings show pay “must remain competitive throughout a teacher’s career and steps must be taken to dial down the accountability system and workload pressures that are driving many teachers away from the profession”.
Hartwright added incentives on top of pay like “fully funding teacher training, waiving student loans, and long service awards” are more like the “cherry on the cake, not its main ingredients”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “Work is already underway to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers, restoring teaching as the highly valued profession it should be with a 10% pay award over the last two years and millions invested to encourage more talented individuals into teaching.”
They cited data that shows around 2,300 more teachers in secondary and special schools this year compared to last year.
“Retaining more talented teachers is vital to delivering on this pledge, which is why we are offering payments worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers and we are working alongside the sector to improve workload and wellbeing including encouraging schools to offer more flexible working practices.
“We are already seeing green shoots of early progress with the latest figures showing that this year has one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector.”
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