The research has been carried out by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) as part of a push to have teaching placed on the Shortage Occupation List – which would make it easier for schools to recruit from English-speaking countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).Currently, the teaching subjects on the list are mathematics, physics and chemistry, but ASCL wants to see teaching in general added.
Its evidence survey involved 433 school leaders from secondary schools in England and showed that 97 per cent are experiencing difficulty recruitment; 80 per cent said the situation is worse now than a year ago.
Teacher recruitment is a key challenge facing schools in light of the forecast rise in pupil numbers, which are projected to grow by 13 per cent between 2015 and 2024, adding another 900,000 pupils to the school system over the next decade.
In addition, the government has missed its annual targets for teacher training recruitment for the last four years.
The worst subjects, according to the ASCL survey, are mathematics, with 89 per cent of the school leaders experiencing difficulties), physics (76 per cent), chemistry (67 per cent), English (61 per cent), and computer science (52 per cent).
The impact of the crisis has also been laid bare, with 33 per cent of the school leaders saying they have been forced to increase class sizes; 27 per cent meanwhile have had to axe courses, including in design technology (40 per cent), music (19 per cent), drama (10 per cent), German (17 per cent), Spanish (11 per cent), and French (10 per cent).
Desperate school leaders revealed that they are now using supply teachers not as short-term solutions for absence or illness, but to actually fill vacancies, with 73 per cent saying they had adopted this approach, while 71 per cent are using non-subject specialists to teach classes.
When asked whether the education on offer had been detrimentally affected by the crisis, a majority said it had – with key stage 3 more badly affected than key stage 4 (73 to 65 per cent). Worryingly, 51 per cent of the school leaders believe that GCSE performance has suffered because of the crisis, while 23 per cent think that A level results have been hit.
Almost six in 10 of the school leaders said that despite severe funding pressures, they are being forced to offer enhanced salaries and other financial incentives to recruit. Budgets are also being hit by the price of re-advertising posts.
One secondary school headteacher in the Yorkshire and Humber region said: “For too long now we have had to creatively timetable our curriculum with inexperienced and non-specialist staff leading classes in core curriculum areas. The lack of a national strategic approach to recruiting new teachers is now having a massive impact on student outcomes and is a ‘ticking timebomb’ that remains largely ignored and unaddressed.”
Another secondary head in North West England said: “We have repeatedly tried to recruit maths and English staff, placing ever bigger incentives onto the posts to attract candidates, which reduces expenditure elsewhere. Despite that, we have started the year with non-specialists in some classrooms as there is simply no-one available to employ. We are a solidly good school in a rural market town so I worry what the situation must be like for recruiting into schools in more challenging circumstances.”
ASCL has submitted its evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee, which is reviewing whether more subjects should be added to the Shortage Occupation List. The review was ordered by the home secretary earlier this year and the Department for Education has suggested that Mandarin, computer science and design technology “might warrant inclusion”. A final report is due at the end of November.
The survey also found that 41 per cent of schools have already recruited from outside the EEA.
Malcolm Trobe, ASCL’s interim general secretary, said: “Teaching shortages are widespread across many subjects and the situation is having a direct and detrimental impact on the education schools are able to provide to young people.
“School leaders and teachers are doing a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances and they do everything they can to mitigate the effect on pupils. Schools cannot however produce teachers out of thin air.
"Making it easier to recruit teachers from overseas will not solve the underlying problem, but it at least gives school leaders another option in dealing with the immediate crisis. The government must get to grips with tackling this issue and we would be very willing to work with them on developing a strategy.”
Recruitment difficulties: Subject break-down
ASCL’s survey shows the proportion of school leaders who are finding recruitment difficult in each subject/area:
- Mathematics: 89.1%
- Physics: 76.2%
- Chemistry: 67.4%
- English: 61.4%
- Computer science: 52.4%
- Biology: 44.3%
- Geography: 37.4%
- French: 37.1%
- Design technology: 33.1%
- Spanish: 24.5%
- History: 20.5%
- Religious studies: 18.6%
- German: 17.1%
- Music: 14.8%
- SEN: 9.8%