A communication from the Department for education, available to view online here (28th January 2019)
DfE publish Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy
Today we have published our Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy. It sets out for the first time – our offer to the profession, to make sure a career in teaching continues to be attractive, rewarding and sustainable.
We have focused on tackling the issues we regularly hear about from you – the workloads you have to manage, the high stakes accountability system, the lack of flexible working opportunities, and the steep learning curve for new teachers.
Not only do these things take away valuable time from the important job of teaching, they also result in too many excellent teachers leaving the profession, and others being put-off from joining in the first place.
The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy sets out how we will address these challenges, with ambitious new ideas to help teachers at every stage of their career. We have worked with heads, unions, training providers and education experts to develop all of this – because like you, they will be key to making it a reality.
The Strategy’s 4 key priorities:
- Helping school leaders to establish more supportive school cultures and reduce workload – we are working with Ofsted to reduce the unnecessary pressure and uncertainty created by the accountability system and ensure teacher workload is considered as part of inspections.
- Transforming support for early career teachers – we are funding a step-change in the support for new teachers, underpinned by the introduction of the Early Career Framework, to match the support offered by other top professions. This will include a dedicated mentor and a reduced timetable for early career teachers
- Making sure teaching remains an attractive career as lifestyles and aspirations change – we are making it easier for schools to offer flexible working, providing timetabling tools and a new job-share matching digital service. We are also developing specialist qualifications to support teachers who want to stay and excel in the classroom, rather than pursuing a leadership route.
- Making it easier for great people to become a teacher – we are simplifying the application process to become a teacher by introducing a new ‘one-stop’ system for initial teacher training and launching new ‘Discover teaching’ initiatives so more people get the opportunity to try out teaching before they apply.
Find out more
- Download our handy one-page guide >>>>
- Watch our explainer video >>>>
- Read the full strategy here >>>>
Tell us what you think
Over the coming months we’ll be holding roadshows across the country to continue this conversation, seek further views on our plans, and to identify how we can work together to deliver.
Contact recruitretain.events@education.gov.uk to register your interest