Is incentivising graduates with debt reduction a solution to teacher shortages?

[Fightthepower]

There are teacher shortages and retention problems and we need to encourage more qualified people into the profession.

We also know that people want to get rid of student debt. Could a scheme work where graduates get some student debt written off or a later bursary paid to them if they go into teaching roles in skill shortage areas and stay working in state education for say 5 academic years?

A bit like some of the NHS bursaries? Presumably some would walk then but some would enjoy the profession and stay on.

Surely it all comes back to funding for schools. Many cannot balance their books and are cutting down on support staff so it is easy to see why ECTs are popular hires. If schools can't afford more experienced teachers, or can only offer them a lower pay scale, then they aren't going to stick around.

Funding needs to increase, to allow pay rises to go ahead and everything else to be paid for.

I'm an older career changer type so the loan forgiveness wouldn't have attracted me, but even when I started it seemed clear that retention is a huge problem.

Biggest issue is behaviour/disrespect and the sheer volume of diagnosed/not yet diagnosed need. Until the government puts the funding in place for SEND LSAs for those in each class that cannot access the curriculum or self-regulate (or both) then I sadly cannot see the situation changing.

Behaviour and parents needs sorting in order to make teachers stay in the job.

A better working environment, decent funding and investment in education and everything that entails, a government and press that respect teachers and education in general rather than taking every opportunity to publicly slag them all off, better behaviour management and appropriate support for children with SEND and behavioural problems, and fewer parental complaints and whinging would help incentivise teachers staying in the job, or returning to the job they once loved and therefore help with teacher shortages.

As our last student teacher openly said she was there for the bursary and nothing else, and no intention to ever teach, I am dubious about too many financial incentives to join.

likewise, these lock-in clauses are disastrous, and I know of at least one suicide of a young person who could not face the years of lock-in with Teach first.

Make pay better later on in teaching careers, to retain staff, rather than trick and trap people at the recruitment end.

But ultimately, finances aren't usually the issue in teacher retention- it's the workload and that is what needs to be dealt with

Completely agree. When people can do alternative jobs with higher pay, annual leave when they need it and the chance to work flexibly, why would they want to work 50/60 hour weeks, go through horrendous Ofsted inspections, be treated like scum by (some) parents and the press and deal with the dire behaviour of growing number of pupils?

I’m lucky enough to have trained without crazy student loans but still have 20+ years until retirement. This policy wouldn’t help me or those my age at all. Something is needed to keep experienced teachers without loans in the job as well.

Ideas for increasing teacher recruitment always seem to centre round money. Has anyone asked the graduates? Or current teachers? I am neither, to be fair, but my impression is that the problem isn't money, it's that teaching is increasingly unattractive - high workload, problem students, problem parents... You couldn't pay me enough to do it.

When I was an idealist student I did consider teaching for a while. My work experience put me right off if I’m honest. It was a particularly rough school but there were tables being thrown, visits from the police, vile and threatening language from a number of kids - I was only there for a few days and I realised it wasn't for me. it was absolutely the behaviour that put me off not money and I can’t imagine it’s any better now.

id love to see teacher better supported through lifetime salary progression but really support re conditions and better sen provision. I think it is a scandal that our county automatically refuses EHCPs and makes parents fight every way for funding.