Number Of Graduates In Teacher Training In England At ‘catastrophic’ Level

The United Kingdom is facing a significant dearth of graduates who are willing to pursue a teaching career. According to reports, the amount of graduates intending to become teachers has falle to "catastrophic" levels, with the UK government failing to meet its own recruitment objectives by more than 80% for key subjects such as physics.

Data released from the Department of Education’s initial teacher training statistics which show just under 29,000 graduates registered, marking a 20% decrease compared to last year’s enrolment of 36,000. These numbers are starkly lower compared to 2020-21’s enrolment of 40,000 trainees during the pandemic. However, secondary school recruitment numbers have taken a significantly bigger hit, sitting at just 59% of the DfE’s annual goal. This number is below last year’s figures at 79%. The government has missed its recruitment targets in the past ten years, where they aimed to recruit skilled professionals for teaching careers.

Geoff Barton, the general manager of the Association of School and College Leaders revealed that the available figures are "nothing short of catastrophic," as chronic shortages are causing distress amongst the community. The declining levels of teacher pay are one of the primary factors behind the lack of interest in these positions. Teacher pay has decreased by a fifth since 2010, leading to it becoming uncompetitive in today’s job market. Moreover, schools in the country are underfunded, raising the workload for teaching professionals and making these positions less attractive.

The UK government acknowledges the challenges it is facing with recruitment and intends to elevate the profile of teachers as a profession through incentives. Offering up to £27,000 in bursaries and £29,000 worth of scholarships for key subjects such as computing, chemistry, physics, and mathematics paves the way for a more beneficial career as a teacher.

However, Stephen Morgan, Labour’s shadow schools minister, disagrees and highlights that the UK government’s policies have led to a chilling effect on the teaching profession. Labour’s national excellence program can fund over 6,500 new teacher training positions, allowing significant growth across the education sector.

The UK’s unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 1974, which means that professionals in high-demand subjects may have more lucrative job opportunities. This has led to a reduction in the number of graduates willing to enter the teaching profession. Furthermore, the recent cost of living increase has offered people less of an incentive to spend another year studying.

James Zuccollo, of the Education Policy Institute, expressed worry about the decreasing rate of first-class and 2.1 degree holders entering the profession, dropping by 75% from the 78% reported last year. Additionally, thirteen out of seventeen secondary subject areas did not meet their targets, highlighting significant gaps in science and technology. The enrollment number of physics teacher trainees is only at 444, which is equivalent to one physics teacher per every eight state secondary schools in the country. The recruitment for computing training teachers is low, with only 348 trainees signing up, equating to 30% of the Government’s 1145 target.

Mathematics saw an encouraging trend, as the government has reached 90% of its targeted math trainee teachers. In the primary sector, graduates have reached 93% of the DfE’s target. Although this number is impressive, it pales in comparison to last year’s 131% enrolment number.