Teacher Recruitment and Retention in 2023

A new report, released by Teacher Tapp and SchoolDash and funded by Gatsby, highlights the continued difficulties in teacher recruitment and retention.

The annual report on teacher recruitment and retention provides insights into the current state of the teaching profession in England. The report draws on data gathered from more than 8,000 teachers surveyed between March and May 2023 and teacher vacancy advertisements published since 2017.

Key findings show:

• Job vacancy advertisements in secondary schools grow by another 12%
• Half of secondary leaders say their school couldn’t interview any candidate for a position due to a weak field
• Fewer senior leaders now aspire to become headteachers (43%, down from 56% pre-pandemic)
• Half of primary teachers said that at least one class in their school was being taught by a temporary agency teacher or a non-qualified teacher
• Science departments continue to struggle with one-in-three science teachers saying GCSE science classes were delivered by non-specialist teachers

The stark report highlights the recruitment difficulties that secondary schools are facing, with job advertisements having increased by 12% compared with 2022, and a record-breaking 13% of secondary teachers revealed unfilled vacancies within their subject departments. Headteacher recruitment is also facing a challenge following a high number of retirements that occurred after a stressful pandemic period, as well as aspirations among deputy and senior leaders to become a head having fallen to 43%, down from the pre-pandemic figure of 56%. Additionally, only 59% of teachers now expect to still be teaching in three years’ time; a significant decrease from the pre-pandemic figures of 74-77%, which is of particular concern as the current recruitment crisis is anticipated to persist for several years to come.

Read the full report here.

Link to the SchoolDash blog here.