News

Recruitment crisis is hindering schools at key stage 3 , say school leaders

Inspection advice/guidance Inspection updates
The severe shortage of teachers means that resources are “stretched to breaking point” and schools are being forced to focus on GCSE and A level students, school leaders have warned.

It comes after Ofsted said that the quality of education at key stage 3 was a “cause for concern” with “slow” pupil progress.

A report from the inspectorate, Key Stage 3: The wasted years?, involved 14 school visits, 11,000 questionnaire responses from pupils, interviews with school leaders, and evidence from 1,900 inspections.

Among the main findings is that there is a “lack of priority” given to key stage 3, resulting in weaknesses in teaching, with pupil progress being “slow”, especially in English and maths.

The report states: “The majority of leaders spoken to … said that they staffed key stages 4 and 5 before key stage 3. As a result, some key stage 3 classes were split between more than one teacher or were taught by non-specialists.”

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here