Commenting on the teacher recruitment figures debate during yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Jack Worth, Education Workforce Lead at NFER, said:
“It is correct to say the overall number of full-time equivalent teachers has fallen by around 400 in the year from November 2023 to November 2024, according to the School Workforce Census (SWC) statistics. However, the Government has chosen to frame its 6,500-teacher pledge around teachers in secondary schools, special schools, alternative provision (AP) and further education (FE), but not primary schools.
“On that basis, the same SWC data shows an increase of 2,300 teachers in secondary and special and AP. There is no data yet on the change in FE teacher numbers since the Government took office.
"Primary teacher supply has historically been relatively healthy and teacher numbers are falling primarily because of falling pupil numbers. This does not represent a major public policy concern as long as class sizes are maintained.
“In contrast, secondary, special schools, AP and FE have experienced undersupply and teacher shortages over the last decade or more and currently have rising pupil numbers. This means that increasing teacher numbers would be consistent with the required policy action.
“The Government framing the target on these sectors therefore addresses the most pressing public policy issues at hand.”