The government has commissioned research into the international teacher recruitment market, amid a spiralling supply crisis.
The contract, worth almost £10,000, has been awarded to IFF Research and will run until the end of August.
Tes revealed earlier this year that the government was looking at how it could boost schools’ international recruitment as the sector faces ongoing teacher shortages.
The contract, published today, says the supplier will carry out a study that will involve analysis of data from a survey with international teachers and trainees, run by the DfE.
It will also involve conducting qualitative research involving interviews with international teachers, international teacher trainees, schools, initial teacher training (ITT) providers and recruitment agencies.
International teacher recruitment
The DfE says this evidence is needed to inform decisions on the current use of financial incentives, identify “barriers and assess eligibility and appetite for international recruitment” and shape future policies.
“This evidence is required to potential untapped enablers for supporting international candidates to take up roles in England and increasing school appetite for international recruitment”, the contract adds.
Applications for international candidates to ITT courses in England have soared this year, with the latest figures published by the government showing an increase of 107 per cent year-on-year up to February, from 3,337 last year to 6,920.
Last year, the government said it would offer non-UK trainees and teachers of languages and physics £10,000 to relocate to England as part of a new pilot scheme starting in autumn 2023.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, warned that looking for teachers abroad is a “sticking plaster solution” to the supply crisis.
He said there is “no substitute for real action to tackle the causes of this crisis and restore a career in teaching as something to aspire to”.
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was “naive” to think that “teachers from overseas can be recruited in the numbers required to make up for such a big shortfall”.
She warned of “additional challenges” international recruitment brings such as recruits having to “familiarise themselves with the education system in this country”.
‘Potential solution to alleviate teacher shortages’
Tes asked the DfE at the beginning of this year how many non-UK trainees and teachers of languages and physics had opted into the relocation pilot scheme so far.
However, the department said it would not publish the information as the details of the scheme were due to be published “alongside a research report into the department’s international teacher recruitment initiatives”.
The contract awarded to IFF Research notes that increasing international teacher recruitment “has been suggested as a potential solution to alleviate teacher shortages, particularly within shortage subjects such as physics and modern foreign languages”.
The DfE hopes the project will help to understand the influence of international recruitment policies such as the £10,000 payment, Brexit, the pandemic and immigration system changes.
The contract details that interim reporting on the survey and school interview findings are expected in April 2024 and the final report is to be completed by July 2024.
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