红桃影视

Two major teacher training providers have suggested government explore whether ‘golden handcuff’ bursaries would keep more teachers in the classroom.

Initial teacher training (ITT) providers gave evidence to the education committee on the teacher recruitment and retention crisis this morning.

The cross-party committee of MPs has launched an inquiry into the sector’s job dilemma.

It follows predictions that the Department for Education is on course to recruit less than half of required secondary teachers next year.

Here’s what we learned …

1. Teach First 鈥榦ptimistic鈥�, but won’t hit target …

Government’s ailing trainee teacher recruitment is predicted to worsen this year.

Teach First, which recruits high-flying graduates, recorded its lowest number of trainees in four years last year. 

Russell Hobby, chief executive at Teach First, said while he is 鈥渙ptimistic鈥� the charity’s trainee numbers will increase this year, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 going to meet my target鈥�. 

Graduate level interest in teaching 鈥渋s at the lowest that it鈥檚 ever been,鈥� he said, adding that a third of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers now have starting salaries of 拢40,000. 

Melanie Renowden, chief executive at the government’s new National Institute of Teaching, is 鈥渃onfident鈥� they鈥檒l hit their first intake target. But she said 鈥渢hat has been hard, hard fought鈥�. 

Barriers include the costs of training and the 鈥渁ttractiveness鈥� of teaching, she said, and there is 鈥渁 lot of demand鈥� for flexibility. 

2. … however relocation grants give boost

Teach First announced last month it would give some trainees who need to relocate a one-off grant of 拢2,000 to help with the cost-of-living crisis. 

Hobby said there was a 40 per cent rise in applications in the weeks after. 

He said: 鈥淐ash can be a relatively straightforward lever. But when it鈥檚 tight though what we need to do is make sure it鈥檚 going where it鈥檚 needed most. So blanket solutions are hard.鈥� 

Hobby said Teach First had some trainees drop out because 鈥渢hey can鈥檛 afford the cost of the petrol to commute now or we鈥檝e had to switch their placement school as a result of that.鈥� 

Dr Jasper Green, head of initial teacher education at the IOE, urged travel costs to placements to be taken into consideration. 鈥淭hat can be a significant cost for students that at the moment isn鈥檛 really considered sufficiently鈥�. 

3. Restructure bursaries, consider 鈥榞olden handcuffs鈥� 

Renowden said evidence shows that bursaries are an effective recruitment tool but 鈥渄on鈥檛 tend to deliver in terms of retention鈥�. 

So 鈥渨e need to think about structuring of financial incentives as people move into teaching and progress through their early careers鈥� so that it 鈥渋ncentivises them to stay鈥�.

Schools offer 拢10k 鈥榞olden hellos鈥� 鈥� but with a big catch

Green questioned whether you needed bursaries as high as 拢27,000 in some subjects and if this could be instead spread out over more subjects at secondary. 

Committee chair Robin Walker said the government is talking about 鈥済olden handcuffs for dentists” in the NHS workforce plan and asked the panel whether this would help in school shortage subjects. 

Hobby said 鈥淚 would explore it鈥� adding: 鈥淚f you could target some of this spending to staying three, five, seven years and link it to regional, local hotspots, schools serving low income communities.

“Like if you鈥檝e worked for five years in one of those schools then taking some of that 拢27k for example and back ending it would I think cover all of these concerns.鈥� 

4. 鈥榃e need to maintain gates to the profession’

Schools Week revealed how training providers had been told by DfE to stop turning away so many applicants amid 鈥渟ignificant rejection rates鈥�. 

But Green said the focus needs to be on 鈥渜uality and not quantity鈥� as otherwise 鈥測ou鈥檒l store up trouble for later鈥�.

For instance, students 鈥渋nappropriately admitted鈥� will go into schools and 鈥渢hat will erode further culture in schools and add to workload鈥�.  He added it will lead to higher withdrawal rates.

鈥淚 understand the department鈥檚 need to recruit more teachers, but I think we need to be careful in relation to just simply opening the doors. 

鈥淲e need to be careful that we maintain the gates to the profession, I think that鈥檚 really important.鈥� 

5. ‘Low’ awareness of postgrad teaching apprenticeship

Renowden said while awareness of the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship is 鈥渋mproving鈥�, it鈥檚 still 鈥渞elatively low鈥�. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 both amongst prospective apprentices but also schools and headteachers are not as familiar as we would like them to be that this an available option,鈥� she added.

She said it could remove 鈥渇inancial barriers鈥� that could prevent applicants and has 鈥渓ots more potential that’s not yet currently being realised, as the numbers remain pretty small overall鈥�. 

6. MATs 鈥榚mploying mentors鈥�

Richard Gill, chair of the Teaching School Hubs Council, said a small number of multi-academy trusts are directly employing teaching mentors 鈥渨ho don鈥檛 have the distraction of teaching but meet the skills and requirements鈥�. 

They are also 鈥渙ffering those services out in a creative way鈥� for schools that have capacity issues, he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new way of working but it鈥檚 a really exciting opportunity鈥�