Education Select Committee: Unless workforce feels 'respected and rewarded', teacher shortfalls in key subjects will deepen

A report from the Education Select Committee has laid bare the stark situation facing secondary schools, with government recruitment targets being “severely missed”, record numbers of teachers quitting, and “worrying evidence” of teachers teaching outside of specialism and schools dropping subjects entirely.

The MPs’ inquiry highlights figures that are all too familiar to schools:

The MP’s report states: “There are now over 468,000 teachers which we accept as an improvement in absolute terms though not relative to pupil numbers. However, we recognise that this is still insufficient, particularly when we know recruitment targets continue to be missed, the number of teacher vacancies doubled between 2020 and 2022, and that secondary pupil numbers are expected to peak at around 3,230,000 this year. Progress on recruitment needs to be sustained and improved in order to manage and meet the needs of this demographic ‘bulge’.”