December 2024
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This conference considered next steps for teacher recruitment and retention in England.
It was a timely opportunity for stakeholders and policymakers to discuss priorities for the direction of policy under the new Government, looking at professional development, staff well-being, workloads, and teaching standards. It came with the allocation of £1.2bn in additional funding for a teacher pay award and reform of the Ofsted school inspection process.
Delegates assessed what will be needed if the Government’s ambition to recruit 6,500 new teachers is to be achieved, including the impact of financial incentives in recruiting and retaining teachers so far, and potential options for their expansion by the new Government. Those attending looked at priorities for utilising and channelling £2.3bn increased funding to support teacher recruitment next year, announced in the Budget.
The agenda included a focus on teacher retention, with DfE statistics published in the last Parliament showing recruitment targets in key subjects had been missed. Attendees looked at latest thinking on tackling issues that may contribute to teachers leaving the profession, looking at workload challenges, pupil behaviour, and the scope for flexibility within the profession as the Government announces plans to enable working from home in free periods for marking.
Further sessions considered the likely impact on the profession of reform to the Ofsted grading system announced in September 2024, replacing single-word judgements with a report card system. Delegate considered the impact of inspection reform on workforce well-being and mental health, as well as workload implications of the inspection process.
We are pleased to have been able to include keynotes sessions with: Sue Lovelock, Director, Teacher Workforce, DfE; and Jack Worth, Lead Economist and School Workforce Lead, NFER.
Overall, sessions in the agenda looked at:
- recruitment and retention:
- examining the effectiveness of financial incentives - new approaches to tackling teacher shortages in key subjects and developing subject specialists
- improving diversity when recruiting teachers for schools in need of improvement - next steps and best practice for supporting teachers
- promoting teaching as a career:
- the impact so far of the Every Lesson Shapes a Life campaign - options for its expansion
- increasing the effectiveness of campaigns to promote the teaching profession and advance recruitment - learning from best practice in other professions
- staff well-being:
- supporting mental health - strategies for managing and reducing workloads - tackling fatigue and burnout
- developing supportive organisational cultures - improving support for early career teachers - the impact of flexible working
- professional development:
- improving the impact of CPD - the future of National Professional Qualification funding - scope for professional autonomy
- designing whole-school strategies - management and implementation of flexible working - what can be learnt from other professions
- quality and accountability:
- the potential impact of reform to the Ofsted inspection process - prioritising teacher well-being during the inspection process - implications of a report card system on staff
- considering the Curriculum and Assessment Review and its potential impact on the workforce
All delegates were able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. Those that attended include officials from DfE; Ofsted; HoC Library; NAO; DE, NI; DfE, NI; and the Welsh Government.
