25th February 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
According to a new report, teacher shortages in England are worsening and the government has missed official recruitment targets for four year running. The National Audit Office has said that the failure to recruit teachers has meant that many subjects are being taught by teachers who have no qualifications beyond A levels in the subjects they teach. The report noted that whilst overall the number of teachers being recruited is keeping up with rising student numbers, there are severe shortages in poor areas, particularly at secondary school level. The office also states that ministers have a poor understanding of local teacher shortages.
The National Audit Office figures reveal that 54% of head teachers in schools with large numbers of disadvantaged children say that they are struggling to find and keep good teachers compare with 33% in other schools. They noted that the government is addressing the teacher shortage from a national perspective, and failing to address local issues in poor areas. According to the report, the government’s understanding of problems in local schools is weak, leading to a lack of action in the most urgent areas. When interviewed, head teachers in schools in poor areas said that many teaching job openings receive no applications at all, and that they are left relying on expensive and unreliable supply teachers.
The head teachers’ union the National Association of Head Teachers said that The National Audit Office’s report matched their own research, and warned that the government was not painting an accurate reflection of the teacher shortage. The union said that they were more than willing to discuss the problem with the government, but their concerns have been dismissed on the basis of national statistics, which do not reflect the problems in poorer parts of the country. The Department for Education said that they interpreted the report positively as it reflected that the number of teachers overall is rising.