Special schools take in fewer staff directly from teacher training streams and instead “rely” on teachers gaining experience with SEND pupils in mainstream settings, a report has found. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has published looking at staffing challenges faced by special schools. It found just under 20 per cent of teachers joining special schools in 2022-23 came straight from a recent initial teacher training (ITT) route, compared to an average of about 30 per cent joining primary and secondary schools. Instead, the system 鈥渟eems to rely on teachers developing experience with SEND pupils in the mainstream sector before moving to special schools,鈥� said the NFER. It said 鈥渕ore could be done鈥� within the ITT system to improve the flow of trainees into special schools. Boosting SEND training One 鈥渞elatively radical option鈥� would be for DfE to set up a specialist ITT route with courses specifically for trainees who want to teach in specialist settings, said the NFER. However, it noted this could risk suggesting 鈥渢hat teaching children with SEND is somehow fundamentally different to educating other children鈥�, and making it less easy for teachers to move between special and mainstream settings. NFER said another option would be emphasising SEND expertise in the early career framework, and encouraging and strengthening trainee placements in special schools. Special school teachers more likely to leave state system The study also found teachers leaving special schools are more likely than other teachers to leave the state system entirely. Sixty-nine per cent of special school teachers who leave their jobs appear to leave the state system, according to the study鈥檚 data, compared to 60 per cent at primary and 56 per cent at secondary schools. The NFER accepted this 鈥渃ould be due to data limitations鈥�, as some teachers may have moved to work at independent special schools which were not recorded in the data. But it added that supporting more special school teachers to stay in the system “could be a useful way of sharing SEND expertise with mainstream settings鈥� as the number of pupils with SEND increases. It comes as the government is aiming to increase inclusion in mainstream to help tackle the ongoing SEND crisis. NFER found special schools had lower teacher turnover rates than other schools, which it called 鈥渆ncouraging鈥�. However, it found alternative provision (AP) settings had 鈥渕uch higher鈥� turnover rates than other schools, and that teachers in these settings are also more likely to leave the state system. ‘Concern’ over AP turnover Teachers in AP settings generally have more teaching experience than average, at just under 16 years compared to the state school average of just over 13. But their average tenure is five-and-a-half years, 鈥渟ubstantially鈥� less than the national average of seven years. The NFER described the turnover and attrition rate in AP settings as 鈥渃learly a cause for concern鈥�, and said the DfE should publish separate statistics for special schools and AP settings. Michael Scott, senior economist at the NFER and the blog鈥檚 author, described special schools and their teachers as “a vital part of the education landscape in England鈥�. 鈥淕iven the challenge special schools face recruiting enough teachers, it is surprising that the DfE does not directly account for the workforce needs of special schools in ITT recruitment targets, nor the flow of teachers from ITT routes into special schools when calculating those targets. 鈥淚t should do so going forward.鈥� Recruiting a ‘significant challenge’ at special schools James Bowen, assistant general secretary of NAHT, said the school leaders’ union regularly heard from special school leaders about the “significant challenges” they face with recruitment. 鈥淭eaching in a special school or an AP setting is a highly skilled role, requiring a huge amount of expertise. “Government should play a far more active role in monitoring workforce challenges in the specialist sector and do more to encourage both new and experienced teachers to consider a career in special schools.鈥� The report is the second in a two-part series by NFER, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looking at workforce challenges in special schools in England. The first looked at the workforce in state-funded special schools, and found state-run special schools employ significantly more teachers without qualified teacher status (QTS) than mainstream settings. It found about 10 per cent of teachers in special schools do not have QTS, compared with two to three per cent in primary and secondary schools. DfE has been approached.
Mark Case 7 March 2025 Well of course they do! All teacher training colleges try and put people off! Apparently you have to know where the kids should be鈥hat鈥檚 what I was told 20 years ago and nothing has changed. You need to know where they are, and where they need to go next. Mainstream experience isn鈥檛 necessary. Understanding need is the key.