TTR0102
Written evidence submitted by Eteach
Eteach is the pioneer of education recruitment, having created the first-ever online job board to connect quality teachers with quality schools. As a leading education recruitment technology provider, Eteach is trusted by over 7,500 schools and colleges and more than 2.5 million candidates. Eteach is submitting evidence because it is passionate about supporting and improving recruitment and retention across England and its scope means it has valuable insights and data.
The current situation regarding teacher recruitment and retention
What are the main factors leading to difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers?
The education sector is currently facing a plethora of substantial issues that are contributing significantly to ongoing difficulties concerning the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers. Whilst issues of teacher pay, workload and stress must be urgently remedied, we at Eteach have witnessed how other factors also contribute to the number leaving traditional teaching roles and the struggles for a consistent pipeline of talent entering the profession.
In a shrinking market, we must ensure the highest possible conversion rate between interested applicants and submitted applications. We regularly see the significant impact that complex or outdated application processes and systems can have on demotivating potential candidates from applying. Marginal gains, including avoiding the unnecessary drop-off of potential candidates due to an application process that’s too difficult or complex, will be an important factor in making attracting candidates easier and ensuring we are getting the best possible candidates into the right roles.
The legacy of Covid is something often spoken about in the sector but what is overlooked is the impact it has had on the appeal of teaching as a career path. Whereas other industries now can offer more flexible working options, including remote or hybrid working styles that were adopted throughout the pandemic, teaching remains tied to the physical classroom. In a time when teaching has a reputation for a heavy workload and a somewhat unhealthy work-life balance, those considering entering education are often swayed towards professions with more flexibility.
In addition to this impacting the number of those entering the sector, we are also seeing current full-time teachers leaving traditional classrooms, opting instead for supply teaching or tutoring, roles which offer much greater flexibility and autonomy. In addition to having less of the everyday pressures facing full-time teachers, these types of roles also offer more control and choice over working hours.
While we can only provide anecdotal evidence to this point, 191 fully qualified teachers have been cleared to work as tutors for Education Boutique since September 2022. Education Boutique, part of The Eteach Group, offers a largely in-person tutoring service focusing on alternative provision, so 191 within a small locality and niche area of education is significant and likely mirrored across the country.
Many of these new tutors have stated that they have opted for this type of role over full-time teaching due to a preference for flexible working arrangements and the ability to focus on teaching rather than administrative tasks or duties. This feedback is echoed in the demands from candidates across the wider sector; there is a large demand for working solutions that offer more choices.
The impact of pay cannot be underestimated. Low teacher salaries in comparison to other industries remain a huge barrier to attracting candidates to the sector, particularly graduates who would have to financially sustain themselves whilst undergoing a year of unfunded teacher training. In addition, pay is a pull factor for those opting for supply teaching or tutoring as there is the chance to earn more than in a full-time teaching role. If we wish to substantially improve retention and recruitment of qualified teachers, the issue of teacher compensation and benefits must be addressed.
Which subjects are most affected?
Although retention and recruitment uptake are problems we are seeing across all subject areas, the most concerning shortages, visible to us by vacancy numbers, are in specialist subject areas. Physics and other STEM subjects are notably struggling for qualified teachers, and there are significant shortages also in geography, design and technology and modern foreign languages.
Particularly within skilled subjects, the struggle to recruit teachers from graduates is primarily due to pay barriers. Physics or maths graduates for example are presented with much better-paying career paths and this has a significant impact on the number entering teaching training programmes.
May is typically the month we witness the highest number of vacancies through our platform, but March 2023 has seen a greater number of vacancies in specialist subjects than previous peaks. There were 247 science vacancies vs. the previous record high in May 2022 (235); maths had 314 vacancies vs. the previous record in May 2019 (273); computer science had 45 vs. a previous peak of 43 in May 2021; and English had 262 vacancies vs. the previous high of 228 in May 2018.
Whilst not a subject area, there is also a growing issue of leadership staffing problems. Sector-wide issues have naturally increased pressure on and scrutiny of senior leadership staff which has resulted in many leaving the sector. At Eteach, we have seen that many schools lack a pipeline of potential leadership successors. This can be a result of a number of factors such as a reluctance amongst staff to accept positions with more responsibilities due to the additional pressures and responsibilities that accompany leadership positions and feelings of unpreparedness or lack of experience from people who have been promoted to quickly to fill gaps in roles without sufficient support of mentorship.
This can be demonstrated by the increasing number of leadership vacancies we are seeing advertised on the platform which tends to peak in March each year. March 2023 saw 912 leadership vacancies vs. 829 in March 2022, and nearly doubling since pre-pandemic times when it was just 544 in March 2019.
How does the situation differ across the country and different types of schools and colleges?
There are noticeable discrepancies between different regions and types of educational institutions with regard to the ability to retain staff. Northern regions tend to have fewer turnover and retention problems than southern areas. This is most likely due to less appetite for movement between roles and areas amongst teachers in the north compared to their southern colleagues.
Retention is also noticeably better within larger multi-academy trusts. From our experience and candidate feedback, we would attribute this to MATs abilities to provide better CPD and development opportunities for staff, more and clearer progression opportunities, and more formalised and substantial support structures such as mentorship schemes.
What action should the Department take to address the challenges in teacher recruitment and retention?
RECRUITMENT
At Eteach, we know that schools and colleges that effectively utilise modern technology achieve higher numbers of applications, providing them with more choice and enabling higher-quality recruitment. We have evidence from multiple customers that have moved from paper-based applications, word documents or PDFs to a fully mobile-optimised application form and very quickly seen an increase of over 50% in completed applications. For example, Mead Trust previously had a 20.1% candidate application completion rate, and after switching in 2022, this rose to 55.3%.
This top-of-funnel data shows the power of having an applicant-friendly process. This translates to the DfE’s own application forms for various teacher training programmes which do not prioritise candidate experience. Setting benchmarks and mandating that every school should use mobile-friendly technology would be an achievable way to significantly boost recruitment.
Wales is currently introducing a government-regulated supply teacher provision. Mirroring this in England could be an effective way to protect schools from the rising costs of employing supply teachers as we often hear of schools spending six-figure sums on supply teachers annually. This in turn would ensure schools have more funds to dedicate to the recruitment and retention of permanent staff, whilst also incentivising educators to apply for permanent roles.
England produces excellent teachers, however, currently, tens of thousands are working abroad. We should tap into this group of educators who have gained fantastic insight and skills from working in other countries to address teacher shortages in the UK. Creating an incentivising package will be key to this with a clear outline for their progression.
Furthermore, since Brexit, we have seen a significant drop in teachers coming to work in England from the EU. The number of QTS awards to applicants from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway fell from 4,795 in 2015-16 to just 704 in 2021-22. Implementing a teaching visa would substantially improve the process, removing barriers to recruitment and expediting the process.
Leveraging other overseas teaching communities would also be beneficial. It is currently much easier for teachers from the commonwealth to work in England than in Europe. In parts of countries such as Canada, Ireland and South Africa, there is a surplus of teachers which we could tap into. Offering exciting packages for a few years or permanently could be another effective way to boost recruitment.
The independent sector successfully hires teachers who do not have a QTS. While of course, the QTS is important to ensure teaching standards and criteria are met, allowing a case-by-case basis for this could be beneficial. This will allow for a wider recruitment pool and could be counterbalanced with a shorter introduction to teaching, similar to the Teach First programme, to ensure professionals have the relevant safeguarding training and curriculum information.
This would be particularly beneficial when employing from overseas. We are seeing real barriers for teachers from places such as Jamaica, in moving to the UK based on the various tick boxes needed for the QTS which does not account for their extensive years of experience.
Young people today are incredibly ambitious and looking for a clear career pathway when applying for jobs, reflected in many of our conversations with our ECT network of 3,380 members. As such, developing a clear graduate teacher scheme that sets out expectations and opportunities would be beneficial. For example, offering two years in England to complete their ECT years, then two years abroad to gain valuable insights and experience, and then on returning to the UK, they could take up middle leadership roles.
While there are bursaries available to support career changers to retrain in some of the most sought-after subjects such as physics, maths and geography, we think the government could go one step further and support training teachers by supplementing them with an income, for example placing them on TA salary.
It is incredibly challenging to attract career changers to teaching without providing a salary, asking skilled and coveted professionals to retrain without an income. Therefore, a year of salary support would be beneficial. Social work and policing have some great examples in place already around funded and salaried training periods which the government could replicate for education.
RETENTION
Recruiting headteachers is becoming increasingly challenging with high role turnover. A national framework for leadership mentoring would provide vital support in what can be an isolating and lonely role as well as ensure new heads have access to experts who can provide valuable strategic advice and guidance.
There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work as a society and for teachers, the desire to have more flexibility is no different. While the education workforce understands the role will always require classroom time, there are ways that some of our schools are successfully organising their timetables to give teachers more time that can be used flexibly. Rolling out initiatives such as this across the county will not only support future recruitment but enhance retention, support the reduction of workload and increase wellbeing.
How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved?
Are there ways in which teacher training could be improved to address the challenges in recruitment and retention?
The ECF was well intended and sought to address some of the key issues in teacher training. However, speaking with our ECT network of 3,380 members, we have found that there is some frustration. Schools that do not use one of the six lead providers, have not taken the fully funded route and are trying to implement the framework themselves due to a lack of resources are providing content that is very similar to the PGCE year and SCITT training. This means teachers are unable to progress for two years. As a result, many move to supply teaching or tutoring to boost their income and offer more flexible working.
We believe mentoring is key to the framework’s success. Currently, mentors experience a significant increase in their workload but with few adjustments or incentives to compensate for this. If we can ensure mentors are sufficiently supported and rewarded, the programme will have more capacity to evolve successfully.
April 2023
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