TTR0100

Written evidence submitted by the Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust champions social mobility through programmes, research, and policy influence. Since 1997 and under the leadership of founder Sir Peter Lampl, the Sutton Trust has worked to address low levels of social mobility in the UK. The Trust works to improve social mobility from birth to the workplace so that every young person – no matter who their parents are, what school they go to, or where they live – has the chance to succeed in life.

1. The current situation regarding teacher recruitment and retention 

• What are the main factors leading to difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers?
• Which subjects are most affected?
• How does the situation differ across the country and across different types of schools and colleges?
• What impact does this have on pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND?

Recruiting and keeping teachers in the profession is proving increasingly difficult. According to the NFER, there has been a significant drop in the number of new trainees on initial teacher training (ITT) courses in 2022/23 compared to previous years, including pre-pandemic.[1]

The Sutton Trust’s ‘Recruitment Gap’ report shows that the issue of teacher recruitment and retention is a longstanding problem that predates the COVID pandemic, and disadvantaged communities are experiencing the harshest impacts. In 2019, 85% of teachers in the poorest schools said recruitment issues were affecting the quality of education in their school.[2]

Teacher recruitment

The 2019 poll of over 7,000 teachers revealed the inequalities in how recruitment difficulties are distributed across schools in England. This is most clear in secondary schools, where 30% of teachers in the most disadvantaged schools (the 20% of state-funded schools with the highest proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals) say their department is not well-staffed, compared to 14% of teachers in the most affluent state schools and 6% of teachers in the independent sector. There is a similar, though less marked, pattern among primary schools.[3]

The uneven distribution of staffing shortages between advantaged and disadvantaged schools is larger than any regional differences. Greatest reports of recruitment difficulties are in London, where 18% say their school or department is not well-staffed, compared to 13% in the north of England (North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber).[4]

Teachers in the most disadvantaged schools are also far more concerned about their ability to fill vacant posts, with 58% of teachers uncertain about their school’s ability to find suitable teachers, compared to 35% of teachers in the lowest FSM quintile state-funded secondaries and just 11% in the independent sector.[5]

Recruitment issues by subject

Among secondary school subjects, social inequalities are worst in the core subjects of maths and science, and the impact on the most disadvantaged schools is stark. Approximately one in three maths and science departments in schools serving the most disadvantaged communities report that they are not well-staffed.[6]

School leaders continue to struggle to recruit sufficient suitably qualified teachers in maths and physics. In 2022, the NFER found that the sustained under-recruitment of trainees in these subjects is contributing to an overall lack of teacher supply. As a result, close to half of secondary school leaders (41% in physics, 46% in Maths) reported that at least some non-specialists were used to teach the subjects.[7]

This inequality in access to specialist teachers is a longstanding one in science. Sutton Trust research from 2017 found that schools with the largest numbers of disadvantaged pupils are the least likely to have teachers with relevant science qualifications. In the 40% of schools with the most pupils entitled to free school meals, 76% of teachers have a qualification relevant to the main science subject they teach; in the 40% of schools with the lowest numbers of FSM pupils, this rises to 83%.[8]

Teacher retention

There are also social inequalities in the stability of the teacher workforce across the primary and secondary sector, with retention a greater issue in the most disadvantaged schools. Just over a third (36%) of the most disadvantaged secondary school teachers reported that no member of their department was leaving at the end of the 2018/19 school year, compared to nearly half (48%) of the most affluent state schools and independent schools.[9]

Teacher retention continues to be an issue and may be exacerbated by reasons related to pay and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Recent polling by the Sutton Trust found that just under one-in-ten (9%) of state school teachers said they were likely to leave the profession within the next year for pay-related reasons, equivalent to 47,300 teachers. 2% said it is very likely that they would leave.[10]

Teachers are attracted to particular schools for a variety of reasons. More affluent schools seem attractive due to their ‘reputation’, while teachers in disadvantaged schools are most likely to leave because they are attracted by another school.

Teachers overwhelmingly agree that teaching in schools serving more disadvantaged communities tends to involve harder work (92%) and requires more skills (87%), with teachers who currently work in disadvantaged schools agreeing most strongly with this. Teachers also typically prefer to teach higher attaining pupils and classes with less behavioural disruption, with those teaching in affluent schools strongly wishing to avoid schools with behavioural issues, even if it means working longer hours as a result.[11]Perceptions of a school’s reputation are critical in determining what sort of jobs teachers will seek out in the future and, while the reality may or may not be different and relate to the wider context of the community rather than the school alone, it poses problems for recruitment in schools with more disadvantaged intakes.

Impact on pupils

Recruitment problems are having adverse effects on the quality of education in disadvantaged schools, with 85% of teachers reporting this to be the case. 41% of teachers in the most disadvantaged schools agreed strongly that recruitment was affecting the quality of education in their school, compared to 18% in independent secondary schools.[12]

Quality teaching is the single most important factor determining the attainment of pupils. The disadvantage gap means that disadvantaged students are nearly twice as likely to leave formal education without GCSEs in English and Maths than their better-off classmates.[13]

Ensuring that all pupils have access to well-qualified teachers, who are supported in delivering high-quality teaching, is essential to achieving the best outcomes for all pupils and narrowing inequalities between disadvantaged students and others.

2. What action should the Department take to address the challenges in teacher recruitment and retention? 

• What has been the impact of the new bursaries and scholarships announced in October?

Given bursaries have only recently been introduced, it’s difficult to determine their impact. One potential issue is whether teachers are aware of the bursaries, with awareness required before behavioural change is possible. The Department should ensure information on the bursaries and scholarships is widely available.

Alongside bursaries to tackle the issue of teacher recruitment, the Levelling Up Premium payments for early career teachers is a welcome development to attempt to recruit and retain teachers in the most disadvantaged schools. However, they should have a rolling application process rather than fixed deadlines, as the need to promote retention is continuous and such a process would more closely reflect a school’s termly recruitment cycle.

It is also unclear whether current financial supplements of up to £3,000 would be sufficient to attract and retain teachers, as Sutton Trust research shows that only 7% of male teachers and 8% of female teachers in their twenties would consider moving to a school 100 miles away that is struggling to recruit, if offered a £5,000 pay increment.[14]

Looking beyond existing bursaries, Sutton Trust evidence shows that recruitment and retention of teachers is a more significant issue in schools serving disadvantaged communities, and that teachers will prioritise an appealing working environment, largely determined by a school’s perceived reputation and generally marked by higher attaining pupils and lower levels of behavioural disruption, when deciding on where to teach. Schools serving challenging communities need clearer guidance about how to create a working environment that can appeal to teachers who might not otherwise consider them.

In order to address these challenges, schools need support signalling what it is like to work at their school, and teachers should be helped to make decisions with greater confidence. Different strategies could be trialled through the DfE’s Teaching Vacancies website, such as being more specific about policies in schools advertising vacancies, such as behaviour management and training opportunities.

Since not all schools are equally affected by teacher shortages, it is vital that government monitors social inequalities in teacher recruitment.

The DfE should also emphasise the benefits of spending pupil premium money on teacher wages and professional development as a way for disadvantaged schools to overcome their recruitment struggles. This is already allowed under pupil premium spending guidelines but could be emphasised further. Guidance on the pupil premium from the Education Endowment Foundation supports the use of funds in this way.[15]

Local strategies

Local recruitment strategies are likely the best way to do this, as 80% of teachers are willing to consider a local move to a school in special measures with recruitment challenges, provided the conditions are right.[16] Pay, promotion, and a reduced timetable are an attractive option to many, though there are also low-cost perks that schools can offer, such as lower marking loads, quality training opportunities, and mentoring.

England has a very decentralised teacher labour market, and local recruitment strategies would help to ensure that the initial allocation of training places reflects local supply needs. Currently, there are very few government levers to help resolve shortages but, in areas of the country where there are shortages and no existing training provision, the local teacher labour market may best be served by the government proactively setting up a new initial teacher training organisation, whether as part of a school, a local trust, or as a stand-alone entity.

Only one in ten teachers is likely to consider moving 100 miles for a dream job, with experienced teachers most likely to be attached to the place they live and less amenable to moving for a job. Inducing moves across regions would therefore require very high financial incentives. As a result, focusing on local recruitment and addressing regional disparities in the availability of initial teacher training are likely to be most effective strategies.

School admissions

On a wider level, addressing inequalities in state school admissions and creating a more socially mixed comprehensive school system could help with improving schools’ reputations. A fairer admissions system, where access to schools is not as closely linked to family income, would have benefits in terms of teacher recruitment and retention, as well as attainment and social cohesion.

Too often, those from less well-off homes don’t have access to the highest performing schools and the most effective teachers, with high performing schools more often than not located in the most affluent areas, with intakes that are unrepresentative of the neighbourhoods around them. Complex admissions criteria and appeals processes effectively result in covert selection, contributing to much fewer disadvantaged pupils being admitted than live in the local area.

This social segregation has a profound impact on Britain’s teachers. As perception of school reputation matters and many teachers prefer to teach in schools with good reputations and high attaining pupils, many of which tend to be located in affluent areas, those with the most affluent intakes have their pick of teachers when recruiting. The lack of social mix in schools contributes to the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils.[17]

Options for school admissions reform include the use of marginal ballots, where a substantial proportion of school places (between 50% and 90%) would be allocated as normal, and the remaining places would be reserved for a random draw among unaccepted applicants, giving an equal chance of access, regardless of any other factors.

Another option is to give priority to applicants from less-well off backgrounds, for example based on eligibility for the pupil premium. Banding tests are another possibility, where a school sets a test for all applicants and admits equal numbers of pupils from each ‘band’ across the ability spectrum. As disadvantaged pupils are often lower on this spectrum, it may increase the number of such pupils admitted. These approaches are already being practised in some schools.

Bursaries

The government could consider requiring teachers in receipt of substantial teacher training bursaries to teach in more disadvantaged schools or in particular areas as a condition of the bursary. This would need to be done with care, ensuring that a place at one of these schools was indeed available to eligible trainee teachers and that the school is able to provide trainees with the sort of environment where they would be able to thrive. We welcome the rollout of the levelling up premium payments for teachers of chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics and the early-career payments for teachers in chemistry, languages, mathematics and physics. It is important to ensure that teachers are aware of these opportunities and that they are well-advertised, with the government monitoring take-up and responding accordingly.

3. How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved? 

• What has been the impact of the Early Career Framework implemented in September 2021?
• Are there ways in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in recruitment and retention?
• How does teacher training in England compare internationally, and what are the benefits and disadvantages of the English system?

N/A

4. How do challenges in teacher recruitment, training and retention compare to those being faced in other professions/ sectors of the economy, and is there anything that can be learned from other professions/ sectors of the economy? 

N/A

5. What particular challenges exist in teacher recruitment, training and retention for teachers from different demographic backgrounds? 

• How well does the demographic makeup of the teaching workforce reflect that of the pupils they teach?

N/A

April 2023

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