The 6th NFER Teacher Labour Market Report

The National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales (NFER) has published its annual Teacher Labour Market report.

The report comments on the progress the education system in England is making towards meeting the teacher supply challenge and adds 4 key recommendations. This sixth annual report offers an in depth look at 5 themes:

1. Recruitment to initial teacher training.
2. Retention and turnover.
3. Teacher pay.
4. Working hours and workload.
5. Flexible working

Key Findings

The NFER report draws out some key findings:

• “Secondary ITT recruitment in 2023/24 reached only half of its target while leaving rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
• ITT applications for 2024/25 so far show slight improvement in some subjects, but not enough to bring secondary recruitment in line with its target.
• Working hours increased significantly in 2022/23 compared to the previous year, driven in part by worsening pupil behaviour since the pandemic.
• Last year’s pay award helped to stall the real-terms fall in teacher pay since 2010/11. However, teacher pay growth has been outstripped by strong earnings growth since the pandemic in the wider labour market outside teaching
• Flexible working has become more common in teaching, but remote and hybrid working is more limited in teaching than in the graduate labour force. Compensating frontline public sector workers could help prevent the lack of remote working from undermining the attractiveness of these jobs.”

Recommendations

The report highlights 4 recommendations, that the NFER identify would contribute to addressing the current teacher supply challenges:

1. “Government should set up an independent review focussing on how to reduce teachers’ workload related to behaviour management and pastoral care, which should consider the role of external support services, such as for special needs and mental health.”
2. “Narrowing the gap between teacher pay growth and the wider labour market is key to supporting recruitment and retention. The 2024 pay award should therefore exceed the 3.1 per cent forecasted rise in earnings in the wider labour market and be fully-funded.”
3. “Political parties should set out their plans to develop a long-term strategy for pay-setting which reduces the gap in earnings growth with competing occupations, while ensuring that schools have sufficient funding to enact these pay increases without making cuts elsewhere.”
4. “Political parties should consider introducing a Frontline Workers Pay Premium to compensate public sector workers for the lack of remote and hybrid working opportunities in their jobs compared to the wider graduate labour market. We estimate that this would represent a 1.8 per cent consolidated pay increase for teachers.”

Generate Teaching Hub is the designated Teaching School Hub for Halton, Warrington and Wigan. We connect all schools high quality, evidence based professional development. Our theory of change highlights the target of supporting improvements in teacher recruitment and retention.

We welcome discussions on the report and options for action we can collective take in our area to achieve a greater coherence to the leadership of teaching and learning. Contact our team on 07897 280909 or email hub@wpat.uk.