Community welcomes new report on addressing teacher recruitment and retention crisis

Community welcomes a new report from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) which calls on government to address the problem of teacher recruitment and retention in English schools.

The report outlines how increasing teacher pay at a faster rate than the wider labour market could ensure teacher recruitment targets are reached across a range of subjects. It also suggests that other financial incentives such as bursaries, early career payments, and non-financial measures, such as workload reduction, could improve retention.

Helen Osgood, Community Union’s National Officer for Education, said:

“The recruitment and retention crisis in our schools is worsening, with additional strain being placed on existing teachers and school staff who are being forced to plug the gaps. We’ve seen this in the increased number of calls to our service centre from members on the frontline who are overworked and distressed.

“Something has to give, and this new report from the NFER sets out the case for a long-term strategy to tackle the crisis in teacher supply, including through a meaningful pay uplift to attract new workers to the sector. This is particularly pressing in the case of subjects like maths and science where the shortage of teachers is most acute.

“As we have outlined previously, both statistics and the experiences of our members reflect a system which is creaking and urgently needs attention. Addressing the recruitment and retention crisis must be a priority for lawmakers, and we welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to tackling the problem as a priority if it forms the next government.”

You can read the new NFER analysis in full here.

Community is the union for education and early years professionals: representing teachers, headteachers, education, school support staff and early years staff. With over fifty years’ experience, we represent members and campaign to improve conditions for education and early years professionals. We are a modern trade union, campaigning for a better working world.

If you are a member of Community and need advice or support, please contact our Service Centre at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.