TTR0011
Written evidence submitted by Liverpool John Moores University
1) Recruitment
Each year Liverpool John Moores University successfully trains approximately 450 student teachers, on Primary and Secondary Postgraduate routes, and on a Primary Undergraduate 3 year degree. In Secondary we offer 16 subjects. The English model of ITE produces highly qualified new staff, in rich partnerships across the country, with a successful weighting of centre-based training and school-based practice. Over the last few years, the changes required by the introduction of the Core Content Framework, the Early Career Framework and the Market Review have had a damaging impact on the sector, and placed a strain on collaboration and partnership, which is only likely to increase with the new imposed quality requirements for 2024.
Recruitment to teaching is increasingly challenging, and numbers are in decline. This is most acute in Secondary shortage subjects. However, for the first time we are also experiencing a decline in applications to Primary programmes. Action is needed if our pupils are to have the teachers they need, particularly in schools serving areas of disadvantage.
These are some of the issues followed by potential solutions:
- The annual changing of bursaries, and the fact that these are not tied in to entering teaching in the state sector means that they are of limited value. They are too high in shortage subjects (higher than the initial salary) and too limited in subject and phase;
- Fluctuating amounts each year causes resentment in applicants (eg English), and decisions are not sufficiently nuanced (for instance the lack of bursary in RE).
- Training to teach adds an additional student loan burden to graduates who already have significant debt. Increasingly, graduates cannot afford to train to teach. Unlike in other postgraduate awards, they do not have the time to find paid work alongside their programme. We have student teachers using food banks and accessing hardship funds;
- Teaching is not celebrated as a career in the media – including by the DfE themselves. The train to teach campaigns are lacklustre and marketing is woeful. So many positive stories about teaching are missed. We have yet to see a clear marketing strategy from DfE;
- The initial salary is not competitive with other graduate level roles;
- The ITT market review was and remains completely misguided. It has presented a huge distraction for ITE teams and eaten into time which should have been spent on recruitment. High quality providers have been lost; some in areas of the Northwest where they were making a significant contribution to local recruitment struggles, eg Blackpool. The preference for national providers is counterintuitive, In ITE local partnerships work best.
- The demise of School Direct programmes from 2024 is an error. 30% of current trainees are on School Direct Programmes. In the case of LJMU it is about 40%. Although some of these schools will maintain their role in recruitment, the decision has damaged and will continue to damage these schools’ commitment to taking a significant role in ITE, and student numbers will inevitably fall as a consequence.
Instead the DfE should:
- Learn lessons from the Nursing and Social work approach to bursaries, grants and loans. Stop paying inordinate amounts to some shortage subjects and nothing to many secondary subjects and primary;
- Consider redirecting bursary spending to fee waivers; this will ensure that the money is always focused on committed applicants;
- Increase teacher salaries in line with Wales and Scotland.
- Cease the distraction and significant expense of the Market Review and of the ongoing readiness checks for 2024 compliance etc. Allow School Direct programmes to continue.
- Rewrite the Core Content framework, so that it is more appropriate for the range of subjects and phases taught, and has a much more significant focus on training in SEND;
- Completely rethink the mentor expectations for 2024. 20 hours of training for each mentor is not feasible. QA of mentors is already in place & the quality of student experience can be assured without “counting training hours”.
- Consult more fully with the sector. The same “Expert groups” have had too much influence, and the decisions taken have only precipitated a decline in workforce data.
- Introduce more specialist routes into teaching, in particular training for teachers in Specialist provision. Currently this does not fit. Specialist secondary schools need staff who are not only trained to teach a single subject, however secondary teacher training is applied for on a subject basis. Whilst primary training is more appropriate, it does not match the pupil age range.
- Develop focused recruitment programmes aimed at Black/Minority ethnic recruitment to teaching. The very small number of teachers of colour is detrimental to the success of the diverse pupils in our schools. BAME graduates need to be encouraged and supported into teaching, including through paid internships/ targeted bursaries etc. Networks of support need developing.
- Develop the potential of teaching apprenticeships, whilst ensuring academic rigour and entitlement to an academic award is maintained through tight control of apprenticeship expectations.
2) Retention;
We remain in touch with many former students so are aware of these issues:
These are some of the issues followed by potential solutions:
- The Early Career Framework has added to workload, is unpopular in its content (seen as repetitive of ITE, far too generic to be useful, and secondary focused), and is putting Early Career Teachers under additional stress;
- The EEF and Teacher Tapp evaluations of the ECF so far demonstrate that it is more likely to exacerbate retention than to assist it. We are hearing the same;
- ECF mentor expectations are very time consuming. This is putting schools off recruiting ECTs. Many are looking to recruit teachers who are already beyond induction. The mentor burden is having a negative impact on ITE mentoring too, so risks creating a shortage of placements;
- Salaries post induction for classroom teachers are not competitive. Early Career Teachers work harder than many of their peers in other jobs, they are paid less and have larger loan repayments;
The DfE should consider:
- A comprehensive student loan forgiveness scheme for working teachers, associated with years in service in the state sector. Current teachers 4/5 years into their careers experienced £9k fees – no bursaries & now a cost-of-living hike. They are not able to buy their own homes or afford childcare.
- A complete rethink of the Early Career Framework, replacing a one size fits all approach with an entitlement to development that can be bespoke to individual needs and interests, and which will invigorate staff, rather than being seen as merely hoops to jump through. The Professional Development passport approach in Wales is much more attractive to new teachers;
- A return to a one-year induction. The two-year process is adding unnecessary stress to new staff.
- Ceasing the requirement to demonstrate the Teachers’ standards as part of ECT induction (the Teachers’ Standards have already been evidenced to award QTS so there is no need for this).
- Improving teacher salaries, so that pay compares well with that of peer graduates. New teachers report that their salaries around 4-5 years in have not increased significantly, whereas their friends in other graduate posts have had significant pay rises/promotions by this point. 4-5 years in is when many teachers leave – pay is a significant reason why.
- Supporting SUBJECT associations to further develop low cost professional development and ensuring that all are equally valuable and valued. Follow the example of the Historical Association. Creating Subject hubs, supported by local Universities.
- Paying for all ECTS to become members of the Chartered College of Teaching;
- Ceasing the funding of a proliferation of generic NPQs and instead focusing spending on Subject and curriculum development, including secondments, with a particular financial focus on support for subject knowledge development for Primary staff;
- Radically altering OFSTED inspection frameworks to remove the unnecessary stress and distraction that these cause to both schools and ITE providers.
- Working with Universities to provide on-going support and training for Early Career and classroom Teachers; and in developing subject practitioner communities of practice.
March 2023