Number of graduates in teacher training in England at ‘catastrophic’ level - DfE figures

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When is the government going to do something to address this, with more and more leaving and fewer and fewer wanting to enter teaching despite the governments attempts so far at making it "more attractive".

Will there be anyone left in our classrooms? Will parents be thinking of any of these issues and their implications during strikes?

www.theguardian.com/education/2022/dec/01/number-graduates-teacher-training-england-catastrophic-level

The number of graduates training to be teachers in England has slumped to “catastrophic” levels, with the government missing its own recruitment targets by more than 80% in key subjects such as physics.

The Department for Education’s initial teacher training figures show that just under 29,000 graduates have signed up this year, a 20% fall compared with 36,000 last year, and far below the 40,000 trainees registered during the pandemic in 2020-21.

But the figures are far worse for secondary school recruitment, where they are at just 59% of the DfE’s annual target, well below the 79% reached last year. It means the government has missed its own targets in nine of the past 10 years.

I don't think even the government have the power to undo decades of erosion of teachers' power in the classroom. It will take a huge societal shift to make teachers be figures that have to be respected again, rather than the "child is always right" culture we presently have.

I think this is the main reason that is driving teachers away, even more than pay. Plus recent school leavers will have seen the power imbalance from the other side, why on earth would they want to sign up for that?

What’s the point in the DfE saying it’s ‘an important and prestigious profession’ when everything they do signals the opposite.

They can put in bursaries or whatever, to try to attract graduates, but you can bet they’ll either drop out, or last a year or two and leave. It isn’t just about pay, it’s about the erosion of everything that made teaching a worthwhile profession.

Wont they eventually just end up having computer delivered lessons delivered centrally with supervisors in a hall or something? I assume that the government would love to do away with the staffing costs associated with teachers.

Well I looked into teaching. I'm in my 50s, and have two undergraduate degrees, one in Science. I thought my maturity and education would be a positive thing. I was told - by my "Get Into Teaching" advisor - that I would need to get some classroom experience before applying. I tried very hard to get some experience both paid and unpaid. Nothing doing. Could have been my age or because of the pandemic. I studied for a TA qualification, thinking that might help me get TA work. No - you need experience, not paper qualifications. I've now decided not to bother. If the teaching profession wants new teachers they need to make it possible to train!

@TiredButAlive I suspect that was the pandemic.

I’m an ex teacher and I’m really not surprised to hear this news about the number of teachers. It does worry me.

@TiredButAlive if you want classroom experience sign up with an agency or work as a cover supervisor. You will be thrown in at the deep end but if you can do that you can do anything...
Most of the schools where I live use cover as a bounce into teaching training. It shows those that can or can't cope in a classroom.

Hmmmm. I wonder why that could be...

I thought my maturity and education would be a positive thing. I was told - by my "Get Into Teaching" advisor - that I would need to get some classroom experience before applying

'Experience' doesn't mean what you think it does. They just mean spend some time in a classroom. Most schools will help you out with that if you call them - it's an extra body for a few days. I think universities often ask for around 10 days - they just want you to have an idea of what you're getting yourself in to. It's really not for everyone.

It is some years since I did it but the Government 'get into teaching' helpline found me a couple of schools that I visited for 5 days each. I later volunteered at one of them for one day a week for a full academic year whilst I was applying for the PGCE. It gave me a school reference which was really useful in securing my first position.

I don't think even the government have the power to undo decades of erosion of teachers' power in the classroom. It will take a huge societal shift to make teachers be figures that have to be respected again, rather than the "child is always right" culture we presently have.

True.

We also now have a generation of teachers moving into leadership positions who have low expectations because this is all they've seen. I don't know how this can be turned round.

I applied for a PGCE & got on a really good course, but when I went to apply for funding found that none of the oft touted grants etc were available.
I'm in my 40s, wanted to retrain but have a family & mortgage etc & whilst my DH earns a reasonable amount for our area it isn't enough to cover all bills etc.
No bursaries etc available for primary so I had to reject the course offer & move on.
Loads of people I met at the interview said similar - they were only applying for the courses with big bursaries as they couldn't afford to train otherwise. One lad really wanted to do primary but as no bursary, he'd applied for secondary physics & was hoping in a few years to move down to primary teaching.
Them throw in the ridiculous hours, over assessment & writing up of everything, it just became less & less appealing.
It's an utter shambles.

@Needtoseethatbiggerpicture Nope tried all that. I suspect the pandemic played a part. They didn't want extra people on the premises who posed a health and safety risk.

@Stomacharmeleon For anything like that they required a "reference from your last headteacher". How exactly do you get that if you've never been able to work in a school, paid or unpaid?

I’m not a teacher and I could never be a teacher but my best friend is one. The pay has stagnated, the conditions have deteriorated, teachers are leaving and new ones aren’t coming through. I don’t know where it’ll end up but from the outside it doesn’t look good.

I personally think teaching is the most important job there is and it should be respected more by people in general but more importantly it needs to be respected by the government and not only paid well but the job itself made more attractive.

I wanted to be a teacher. DM, a teacher, told me I should do anything but. My team at work is full of trained or ex teachers.

Sorry not relevant to the thread, but could I ask what area you work in please?

We have this issue in other public services. The main reason is you can't live on thin air and train. I considered teaching after university, but couldn't afford to train for the year and do unpaid work to get on the course. I needed to earn money and keep a roof over my head.

I did well in my degree, but probably not the best subject (it wasn't one of the basic subjects), but would have been OK with primary.

I have a family now and teaching isn't great for family life (although DM readers love to think so). Not many jobs are, but teaching is particularly bad.

Local government! Not education related, though I expect there are lots there too.

Our hall would fit 2 or 3 classes in at a push. Not sure what would happen to all the rest of the school!

Spot on!

I left teaching not because of the pay but because of the conditions and expectations. I am sad I am not teaching in that I miss the actual teaching but I have my life back. It is going to take a big change in culture for retention to improve.
Teachers need to be trusted not micro managed.

Also you can’t wfh with teaching - that’s a massive perk for a lot of people.

It's scary. Ds2 is at a Further Education College doing his second year of Btec and there are virtually no teachers for his course. They're expected to teach themselves from slides. He's panicking because he didn't take physics at GCSE and there is no one to explain anything. Dh is helping him, but you need a qualified teacher for many things.

Ds says the teachers are either sick or have left.

I work in education.

The issue for most I speak to is not salary - it is working conditions and culture.

The job is incessant, has always been and will always be. It is working with children, in large groups. However in recent years, particularly in England, education has become all about the data, the pressure to perform to certain ways, to teach to exams, to push children to achieve academically above child development, developing a love of learning and life, to ensure all children are fed into the process that is university and high paying life, to test, test and test more ready for exams, to tell children who get anything other than excellent that they have failed from a young age. The education system in England is broken and extreme. I work globally in education, and so have the luxury of working with many education systems to be able to say that.

Add on top a change in culture, which is now parent and child driven, which does not respect the educator as a professional. I find it amazing how many parents will spend hours telling everyone how the school or teachers should teach. So many parents view of education is only about academia - and miss the huge underlying child development and capacity building which is needed to be a successful learner. I wonder if they would do the same with bridge engineers, scientists or artists?

We have children and families under huge stress from poverty and environment. We have a change in parenting attitudes and skill. Youth work and childcare is decimated. Children's mental health services non-existent. Many look to school or government to sort the ills of society out - without the resources and wider picture being considered. It all comes to a head with hundreds of children in school, every day.

I don't know anyone who went into education without a passion for children and young people, who want the best for them, and to spend time helping them be the best they can. Yet it seems at every turn they are put under more pressure, expected to be part of a culture that deep down they are not comfortable with, are expected to do more with less, and then criticised when anything less than perfection is achieved.

So more money won't solve the issues - and soon I think we will be seeing both huge classes and schools or early years settings looking at reducing contact hours in order to stay open.

There is zero support for people that have taken time out from teaching unless you are in a core subject. At one point I would have gone back after a 5 year break... except it wasn't possible. Not sure why the government thinks its cheaper to spend money on training new teachers rather than refresher support for already qualified ones, but clearly they do.

First of all they need to make the pgce free fees with a non means tested bursary (not loan) equivalent to the minimum student loan then a top up means tested bursary for those on lower incomes.

Secondly for teachers every year you work after the nqt year should result in a student loans credit of £1000, not deductible from salary, so like a bonus. After 15 years teaching in state schools fte all student loans to be wiped.

Makes a big incentive to stay in teaching.

Finally they need to stop being fussy about who applies, there's people with real life experience who would make excellent teachers but don't have 2:1 degrees, there needs to be a different scheme for them to train