Authors also found that more leavers are of working-age rather than retirement, with working-aged leavers at the highest rate since 2010/11.
Vacancy levels for teaching are at their highest rates since records began in 2010, a report has found.
Authors found that more people leaving the profession are of working-age rather than retirement.
Refencing the Schools Workforce Census (SWC), they write that “after excluding retirements, 8.8 per cent of the teaching workforce left while they were still of working age in 2022/23, the highest rate that has been observed since 2010/11, when comparable SWC data became available.”
NFER’s report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, said that this, “coupled with persistently low levels of recruitment” into initial teacher training (ITT), “is leading to widespread teacher shortages.”
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The government also achieved just 62 percent of its target for secondary school subjects; however, that was an increase from 48 percent on the year before.
The foundation said that the government needs to urgently address the teacher supply issue, if it wants to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 teachers by the end of this Parliament.
Impact on Pupils
One effect of these shortages on pupils is that schools have become increasingly reliant on unqualified teachers to fill workforce gaps.
The report also noted that non-specialist teachers teaching secondary subjects like mathematics and physics “have become more common.”
The impact of teacher shortages is also disproportionately affecting more disadvantaged schools, which often struggle with recruitment and retention.
Teacher shortages may also be having an impact on class sizes. NFER observed that in 2023/24, 15 percent of secondary school pupils were in classes of more than 30, up from 10 percent in 2015/16.
High Workload, Pupil Behaviour
The report found that 90 percent of teachers who are considering leaving the profession have cited high workload as a factor, with pupil behaviour becoming “one of the fastest-growing contributors to workload since the pandemic.”
A lack of access to flexible working “may be contributing” to teachers leaving the profession as well, NFER said.
“The time for half measures is over. Fully funded pay increases that make teacher pay more competitive are essential to keeping teachers in the classroom and attracting new recruits.”
Calls for Higher Pay
Last year, schools were offered a 5.5 percent pay increase for teachers for the 2024/25 academic year, with a smaller 2.8 percent pay raise in 2025/26.
NFER called for September’s rise to be increased to 3 percent and for the government to commit to a workload reduction strategy to help with teacher retention.
Children in a school in the United Kingdom on Sept. 12, 2018. PA
A DfE spokesperson said it was committed to working with the sector to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession and to encourage more people to work in the sciences, mathematics, and computing.
Rising Costs
Earlier this week, the School Cuts Coalition warned that most schools in England next year will see costs exceed funding increases, which will lead to overcrowded classrooms and staff cuts.
The group, a partnership of several organisations including ParentKind and the National Association of Head Teachers, warned that in 2025/26, 76 percent of primary schools and 94 percent of secondary schools will not be able to afford their costs.
The School Cuts Coalition estimates that per-pupil funding had fallen to its lowest level in 15 years, and urged the government to prioritise spending for education.