More than nine in 10 schools are finding it difficult to recruit teachers, according to a new survey, with headteachers saying the problem was cause for considerable concern.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) surveyed 766 state-sector school and college headteachers, and found that 95 per cent were experiencing difficulties when recruiting staff.
The survey findings, published today, show that 43 per cent said the problem was “severe”.
It comes after the union’s general secretary, Geoff Barton, told both of the education secretaries appointed this week that teacher recruitment is a major challenge for the sector.
According to the new ASCL poll, just over seven in 10 (72 per cent) heads said they were using supply staff to cover vacancies, with 69 per cent reporting that they were using teachers who were not subject specialists in classes.
Meanwhile, just under a third (31 per cent) reported having to increase class sizes to cope with the problem.
Physics was the subject most heads said was difficult to recruit for, followed by maths, design and technology, chemistry and computing.
Schools also reported that teacher retention was an issue, with nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of heads saying they were having difficulty keeping staff.
Most heads said workload pressures were leading to this problem, which the ASCL said was driven by government underfunding of schools, an “excessive” accountability system and pay levels.
And nine in 10 schools (92 per cent) said they had found it difficult to recruit support staff, which had left them with severe challenges.
The survey was carried out ahead of the expected recommendation of the teacher pay award for 2022-23 before the end of the summer term.
The Department for Education has proposed a nine per cent increase in pay for early-career teachers but a two-year pay award of three per cent followed by two per cent for more experienced staff.
The ASCL highlighted that this was “significantly below” the inflation rate, which is likely to exceed 11 per cent in the autumn, and follows a pay freeze during the current academic year.
Geoff Barton, ASCL general secretary, said: “Teacher recruitment and retention has been extremely difficult for many years but our survey shows it is currently at crisis point.
“Many schools and colleges are left with no alternative but to plug gaps with supply staff and non-subject specialists.
“In several cases, they have had to increase class sizes or cut subject options. The crisis extends to support staff where recruitment is also very difficult.
“Teaching and support staff are the lifeblood of the education system. Without sufficient numbers, it is hard to see how government targets to raise standards in literacy and numeracy can possibly be achieved.
“In fact, despite the best efforts of schools and colleges, current educational standards may actually be at risk.”
Earlier this week, Mr Barton reacted to the appointment of Michelle Donelan as education secretary by warning that the schools sector faced “actual crisis” in teacher recruitment.
But Ms Donelan then quit the role after only two days to put pressure on Boris Johnson to resign as prime minister.
Mr Barton then repeated that teacher shortages were a pressing problem when it was announced this morning that James Cleverly had been appointed as Ms Donelan’s replacement.
