Schools ‘increasingly struggling to recruit teachers’ following strikes

There are currently more than 46,500 job adverts for teachers across the country (Picture: PA)

There are tens of thousands of unfilled job vacancies in schools, according to new research.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has today revealed there are more than 46,500 job adverts for teachers across the country.

Teachers are currently involved in a pay dispute which has led to several days of strikes.

REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: ‘Schools are increasingly struggling to recruit this year with more than 46,500 job adverts.

‘This is after the double-digit percentage rise in education vacancies we reported last month.

‘This happens when employers fail to address pay and people’s experience at work.

‘Teachers face a double whammy because their pay has stagnated, but they are also losing classroom help, such as teaching assistants and new technology, because of a squeeze on school budgets.’

Teachers have regularly been undertaking strike action recently over pay (Picture: PA)

The confederation’s statistics suggested demand for workers remained ‘steady’, with almost 1.7 million job adverts across the UK.

There were 189,832 new postings in the week of April 17 to 23, which is almost a third higher compared to the week before. It is thought this is due to the end of the Easter break.

Recent analysis by the Labour Party of Department for Education statistics found a third of all teachers who qualified in the last decade have left the profession.

A poll from last April also found just under half of teachers who are still working plan to leave in the next five years.

Columnist and teacher Nadeine Asbali wrote in Metro recently: ‘It’s true that the recruitment crisis is not simply about money, but we can’t begin to consider what is happening to education without talking about funding – the funding of wages, yes, but also resources, school budgets and the specialist support needed for the most vulnerable.

‘Fair wages that not only reflect the cost of living but also the years of study and training required to become a teacher means more people will stay in the profession. It’s as simple as that.’

Teachers staged walkouts earlier this week (Picture: PA)

General secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, Paul Whiteman, said: ‘We have a shocking recruitment and retention crisis in education right now, and the Government is doing nothing to tackle it.

‘We have been sounding the warning for years, and now have been driven to balloting our members for strike action over it.

‘The crisis is being driven by eroded teacher pay, unmanageable workload levels and scant regard for well-being.’

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘Since 2010 we’ve increased the number of teachers working in state-funded schools by 24,000, now totalling more than 465,000.

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‘Almost nine in 10 teachers who qualified in 2020 were still teaching one year after qualification, and just over two-thirds of teachers who started teaching five years ago are still teaching.

‘We want to continue bringing great people into teaching and have introduced bursaries worth up to £27,000 tax-free and scholarships worth up to £29,000 tax-free to attract talented trainees in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

‘We have made a fair and reasonable teacher pay offer to the unions, which recognises teachers’ hard work and commitment as well as delivering an additional £2 billion in funding for schools, which they asked for.’

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There are currently more than 46,500 job adverts for teachers across the country.