Labour has been told to reveal its plan for recruiting 6,500 extra teachers, as new analysis shows the promise would no longer plug the widening recruitment gap. In 2021 Sir Keir Starmer told the Labour Party conference that his government would spend 拢347 million to fill 鈥渙ver 6,500 vacancies and skills gaps鈥 across schools in England. But two years on, and despite the party having fleshed out in July, details are scarce on how the additional teachers will be recruited. Labour has so far only announced plans to award 拢2,400 teacher retention bonuses to all those who complete the two-year early career framework. Natalie Perera Natalie Perera, the chief executive of the Education Policy Institute, warned this week that 鈥渕ore details鈥 were needed on the party鈥檚 education policy “such as how a Labour government would tackle the crisis in teacher retention鈥. Current recruitment statistics also suggest Labour would need to recruit far more than 6,500 teachers to plug gaps. In 2021 the gap between the number of teachers recruited and the government鈥檚 target was just 937. But last year, the government recruited 9,376 fewer teachers than it needed, and almost 40,000 left the profession. This year the shortfall is expected to be even larger. Shadow ministers were asked several times at the party conference this week how they would recruit the teachers they have promised.聽 Making teaching ‘more attractive’ is starting point Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, could only say her party wanted to make teaching 鈥渁 more attractive place to be 鈥 that鈥檚 the starting point鈥. She added the relationship between the government and education had to be reset, as did the message that government could send about the value of education 鈥 鈥渁nd that teachers have a role to play in shaping that national mission鈥. This was 鈥渘ot the entire answer鈥 but 鈥渨e have to start somewhere鈥. Catherine McKinnell, the shadow schools minister, also spoke of the need for a 鈥渞eset鈥, adding that the 鈥渃hallenge鈥 on recruitment was part of a bigger picture that included workload and accountability. 鈥淪o I know I’ve possibly not directly answered your questions. But I hope that gives you a sense of鈥 how Labour wants to approach this.鈥 However Sam Freedman, a former adviser to Michael Gove when he was education secretary, told a conference fringe: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Labour will fix recruitment. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really quite fundamentally broken, and you鈥檇 have to put up pay far more than the Treasury will let them to get back to where we were in terms of an equilibrium on recruitment.鈥 He said education would become a 鈥渧isa profession鈥 like health care, where 鈥渉alf of nurses and doctors are recruited from outside the EU鈥. Not oblivious to the scale of the challenge Responding to his comments, McKinnell said she was 鈥渘ot oblivious to the scale of the challenge鈥, but 鈥渢he idea that these things can’t change, I do not share鈥. 鈥淚 feel very optimistic that with a reset relationship between government and our public services鈥hat we can really start to bring changes that will have an impact on teacher retention, that will have an impact on recruitment.鈥 But Phillipson admitted this week there was 鈥渕uch more鈥 a Labour government would need to do in education. She explained the 6,500 figure was based on what the party deemed affordable with the money it would raise from charging private schools VAT. Any new investment would be reliant on the economy growing again. But Lucy Heller, the chief executive of Ark Schools, also told a panel that even if Labour got 鈥渇unding right鈥, it would 鈥減robably not鈥 solve 鈥渁ll the problems鈥 in the sector. She said during 鈥渂attles鈥 over school funding in recent years, there had been a lot of 鈥渢alk around teaching that makes it sound the closest thing to hell, when most of us 鈥 think it鈥檚 incredibly tough but it鈥檚 also the best job in the world when it works. So there is definitely some new marketing needed.鈥 She also pointed to 鈥渁 schizophrenic thing, I think, occasionally from government in [saying] 鈥榶ou鈥檙e all great, you鈥檙e so wonderful鈥 but 鈥榶ou鈥檙e not working hard enough鈥. 鈥淲ith some of that we just say 鈥榥o, the single most important thing we can do is get it right for our children鈥. That鈥檚 an amazing thing to do.鈥