Teacher recruitment and retention has been a challenge for over ten years. The Department for Education (DfE) has predicted that the secondary school population will peak in 2026/27, with secondary school pupil-to-teacher ratios at their highest since 2010. DfE laid out a vision in 2022 for every child to be taught by an excellent teacher by 2030. Its teacher recruitment and retention strategy was published in 2019, setting out priorities for making sure a career in teaching is attractive, sustainable and rewarding.
The PAC reported on retaining and developing the teaching workforce in 2018, finding that Government failures on teacher numbers was adding to pressure on schools. The report highlighted a growing sense of crisis for schools in England struggling to retain and develop their workforces. A 2016 report on training new teachers called for an urgent review of teacher training in England, while concluding that the Government was failing to understand the difficulties many schools were facing in recruiting teachers.
The National Audit Office’s (NAO) 2025 report on ensuring sufficient teachers in secondary and further education examined DfE’s approach to identifying and meeting teacher workforce needs. Based on the NAO report, the PAC will hear from senior DfE officials on subjects including:
- The workforce required in secondary and further education;
- Government decision-making on where to invest or intervene to address need; and
- Progress in addressing recruitment and retention issues.
If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Monday 5 May 2025.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere.
Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues.