Government slammed for 'sluggish and incoherent' response to teacher shortage crisis

[noblegiraffe]

A damning report has just been published by the Commons Public Accounts Committee into the critical teacher shortage in state schools and the government's failure to address it, choosing to spend millions on teacher recruitment programmes (which, despite this, have miserably failed to meet their targets), and comparatively little on supporting the current workforce.

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/dfes-sluggish-and-incoherent-approach-teacher-shortage-crisis-slammed

The government has stood and watched as teachers have quit teaching in droves, simply issuing platitudes about how it remains an attractive profession despite all the evidence to the contrary.

I wonder if we'll now actually see any effective action taken to remedy matters.

I think it's an absolute travesty. I am one of the teachers who have left. I loved my job - loved it, but worked in a school which was taken over by a big academy chain and it went downhill from there. The academies programme, and its lack of consistency, has wrecked so many state schools. The chain who ran my school had a CEO who was earning more than the Prime Minister but the actual school budget was a joke. No spending after Christmas until the end of the tax year. Students had to go without - and I am talking basics. I genuinely could not carry on. Luckily, I teach drama, so my loss wasn't much of a blow to the school - they just removed the subject, thus saving the expense of replacing me. No one wants to work in an establishment which is badly managed by the people at the very top. No one wants to see the big boss raking in the cash whilst the people on the shop floor are spending their own money to keep the customers supplied with basics. It doesn't matter what the job is, the fact remains.

I've been teaching since 1997. It took a lot to make me walk away from mainstream secondary. And I know very well that I'm not the only one.

I can't find the statistics but are the figures for mother's leaving teaching not particularly bad. Workload / childcare costs must be having an impact there because otherwise teaching has a lot of advantages for parents.
As a HOD I've definitely seen a decline in the quality and quantity of applicants to posts (and this is in a good school with a good reputation)

I hope not to be pushed out of teaching (currently on maternity leave and not sure how I'm going to cope back at work) but I know a number of excellent teachers who have left or at planning their escape.

Haven't read the whole thread. I speak at a university recruitment every year and was chatting with the uni's head of itt yesterday. This year they've accepted four (4!!!!) English subject specialists into itt. Four years ago they were full by this time and had had over 250 applicants. This spoke volumes to me.

She also told me they were being pressured to consider any 'reasonable' candidates upon thread of ofsted inspection. The university has been threatened to get numbers up. Where will they magic the numbers from??

The itt providers also get slammed if their pgce students don't go on to become nqts. So they can't just accept the people who only want the bursaries.

Mental system!!!

kate this all fits with something I found which was Nick Gibb basically saying 'lower your standards' ...

It also would have ben helpful on another raging thread since your insights would have backed me up when I kept being told I was wrong that there aren't gazillions of English teacher out there!!

As for mothers : well, teaching is a largely female workforce, especially in primary. One of the staffing issues (with know on effects to those working full time) is the increasing number of pert time teachers in the profession. I have seen it stated on here many times that no one can believe someone can be a parent -mum-- and a full time teacher, let alone with a TLR. This then works its way up to the dominance of men in management, of course.. and a leadership generally not fully sympathetic to work life balance issues ime.

This is my fear. Have to go back full time for financial reasons and have a TLR. Going to be tough and I know a lot of colleagues who haven't managed.

And to echo what Kate said- quality of trainees we're getting has gone down massively, especially in the last 3-4 years I'd say.

egg, I have never worked part time and have been senior middle management for 15 years. I would rather be full time than part time to be honest! Mainly because I thrive on having responsibilities and think part time staff are a bit shafted sometimes.

But there are definitely way more part time teachers than there used to be.

Yes piggy I feel like I've seen that a lot. Staff in school 3 days doing another 1-2 at home!

You are obviously in a naff school and that is sad

No actually I am not in a 'naff' school (whatever that means). I've worked in quite a variety of schools. The one with the lowest staff morale was a very over-subscribed secondary with nice kids in a lovely 'leafy' area, which had recently been rated outstanding by Ofsted. I was only doing a maternity cover and I quit before the end of it.
I currently work in several (good) schools. Teachers turnover is still high, because the problem is the job, not the schools.

The only school I work in where I would currently consider taking a full-time job is an independent school. I'd have to work on Saturdays. But it would be infinitely preferable to the alternatives.

Noble Bashing site

Tbf I think the last bashing was aimed at Eolian.

Teachers going part time because that's the only way the job is doable was in the news last year www.standard.co.uk/news/education/teachers-opting-to-work-parttime-to-finish-marking-on-days-off-a3506086.html

I went part time when I returned from my first maternity leave. I originally envisioned that when both were in school I'd return full time but now that has happened I can't see it happening. I know colleagues without children who have gone part time or are considering it in the near future because it's that or quit.

I think the largest group of people quitting teaching is women aged 30-39.

I went part time when I returned from my first maternity leave. I originally envisioned that when both were in school I'd return full time but now that has happened I can't see it happening

Same here. My dc are now 9 and 11. I'd happily go back to some kind of full time work now, but certainly not as a teacher in a state school.

It really wasn't noble : eolian hadn't posted when that particular invective was launched.

I'm in the quitting 30-39 camp. The prospect of IVF AND teaching at the same time is just too much for me. Currently off work with depression. Both factors have contributed to this...

More power to people who can cope with both (several people have pointed out to me in forums that they were perfectly capable of full time and IVF) but ultimately I just feel like a massive failure, a fact that my pupils and their parents are happy to point out. Way to kick me when I'm already down!

Originally launched that is...

I concede the particularly unpleasant comments were aimed at eolian

:(

a fact that my pupils and their parents are happy to point out

I do remain perennially amused and bemused by how some armchair experts on MN poo poo findings from the ONS, cross bench parliamentary committees, the Public Accounts Committee, leading think tanks, eminent educationalists, investigative journalists, and professional bodies : because not one of those illustrious statisticians, thinkers, analysts or researchers sees that they are wrong, in fact! It is not anything to do with government mismanagement or meddling. Of course not!

Exactly what I was just thinking, piggy. Any teacher who points out the failings in how schools are run is a moaner, a grumpy negative teacher in an obviously crap school who would be no loss to the profession. (If any of those previous remarks were aimed at me then they went over my head because they're just wrong.)

The shit that has been piled on teachers over the past 7 years, the pay cuts, the school cuts, the workload increase, the scrutiny, the stress, the absolutely ridiculous rate of change to exams and curriculum - nah, they've nothing to do with it.

Kate. Sorry you've been treated so badly.

Schools need this :

www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2018/feb/01/staff-wellbeing-team-school-improved

I quit in my mid thirties 4 years ago and I can’t see me going back. I loved teaching and inspiring a passion for my subject, but gradually pupils turned into numbers on a spreadsheet who need to progress in a steady line and if they didn’t it was my fault. So many extra catch up intervention sessions that it was impossible to run extra curricular activities. Silly targets from SLT like no more than 10% of teacher talk in any one lesson. I got excellent results as well. I’d go back if things went back to the way they once were, where I was trusted to do my job. But can’t see that happening.

You all have my sympathy. As a parent I've seen scary male senior management in action (one side of the face for staff and the other side for parents). Glad I didn't work there.

The failure by the government to meet its own teacher recruitment targets since 2010 means 10,000 fewer teachers in the classroom than they intended.

In maths, that's 1850 fewer maths teachers than they expected to train. 1 in 5 secondary maths lessons doesn't have a qualified maths teacher.

At the same time, we've lost 20,000 teachers from FE.

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/04/30000-teacher-shortfall--secondary-schools-further-education

Horrendous.

David Cameron PM from 11 May 2010. Thank you to him, Mr Gove, Ms Morgan, Ms Greening and Mr Hinds, all of whom have been/are Education Secretary. A fine mess.

I started my PGCE (as a mature student) in a shortage subject so was on a £25k bursary. On paper I was a very strong candidate: I'm totally passionate about my subject, I have reams of energy and enthusiasm, I have extensive experience of working with children including teaching, I've worked with schools in another professional capacity for 5 years, I already had a very well regarded professional qualification, am used to working very hard and exceedingly long hours in an extremely stressful situations, I'm highly articulate and apparently even very funny, I can multi task, I'm an excellent decision maker, can work with people from all back grounds, am caring and dedicated. Everyone said I'd be "brilliant" I had no problems getting a place from various ITTs.
It was to be honest the worst four months of my life. I have never been so miserable.
I am my fellow trainees experienced a never ending barrage of criticisms from our mentors and anyone one who observed lessons our taught. The opening phrase "that was excellent but ..... 20 mins later" rang in my ears constantly.
The work load was ridiculous most of us were us till 2 or 3 in the morning everyday preparing lessons and writing lesson plans for them to be shot down in flames either before the lesson or afterwards. We were frequently set up to fail. I have no problem with constructive criticism, but our level of training experience was never taken into consideration you cannot expect someone whose been teaching for two weeks to get everything right especially with non existent help and support. I have been mentoring students for 25+ years and always tailor my feedback according to level training, fairly obviously I have low expectations of someone at the beginning of their training and higher ones of a trainee whose about to finish their training although as to be proficient at my job takes years I still am not expecting a perfect student. Secondly I always focus on the positive (our students complain to their university if we don't and suggest 1 or 2 areas for improvement not 20-30.
I was the lucky I could easily escape and return to my old profession but most of my fellow trainees couldn't and all in my intake are hating the training and few have any intention of staying in teaching at the end as all are utterly miserable. Yes some are taking advantage of the large bursaries and will stick it out till the summer and then you wont see them for dust, but over 30% have already dropped out so they've decided the generous bursaries aren't sufficient incentive to stay. This is not a isolated ITT so appalled am I at the whole thing I done some research, I've spoken to numerous other PGCE students training in a variety of settings all over the UK many who report the same stuff.
Something needs to change qualified teachers are leaving but trainees are also leaving totally disillusioned. I not sure what the answer is. I read somewhere the idea that the PCSE/NQT could be two year course, the two assignments which are enormously time consuming especially if you're preparing from scratch 15 hours of lessons a week could perhaps be spread over the two years, trainees teachers need mentors who actually have time to give them support (I'm not blaming teachers for the lack of time). I dont have all or maybe any realistic answers but I do know that teaching and schools are loosing many excellent enthusiastic and knowledgable potential teachers in the training year or many may finish the training cop the bursary but wont do the NQT year because they hate it so much and this seems a terrible waste.

I'd like to hide,

It is difficult for in-school mentors too, as children are expected to make EXACTLY the same progress when taught by a student teacher as by an experienced teacher. So if you are a student in my class, teaching my children, I have to get you to teach them (immediately) as well as I would, because otherwise it affects MY pay and progression.

There is absolutely no allowance for a class, or a pupil doing slightly less well for a day, or a week, or a month, or the length of a placement, in order for a trainee teacher to have a decent opportunity to learn their craft and make mistakes.

Couple that to the lower academic qualifications of new students (who COULD make good teachers, but need much more time and effort to get there) and it is something of a nightmare for mentor and student teacher alike.

I agree with cant

But I do also think the rot set in when it was decided that ITT would be broken up and given to lots of service providers (privatised if you will)

In Finland, where job satisfaction is high, training is a constant ongoing process , given lots of tiem, and there are only six places in the country (universities) which are allowed to offer PGCEs. Hmmmm. So quality control is high.

One thing I would say, though, is don't forget trainees do have a much lighter timetable than the people who mentor them : a lot of that is to recognise you need time to write plans, change them , refine them etc...

It is high stakes : the kids do only get one shot.