Schools with the highest rates of pupils who receive free school meals (FSM) have larger teacher recruitment and retention challenges.
These schools grapple with higher teacher attrition (leaving), turnover and vacancy rates, and spend twice as much on supply teachers. At secondary level they have a shortage of specialist teachers in key subjects, including, maths, English and science.
These are just some of the insights highlighted in an expanded teacher recruitment and retention data dashboard for England created by NFER and funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
The dashboard now includes three additional years and covers the period 2015/16 to 2023/24. Users can access data on a number of key workforce indicators, such as teacher leaving rates, shortages, specialist teachers in key subjects, and initial teaching training (ITT) - to help better understand staffing challenges in English primary and secondary schools. All of the data is broken down geographically.
The tool also now includes the parliamentary constituencies for the 2024 general election. For example, it shows the three English constituencies with the highest rate of teacher turnover in secondary schools in 2023/24 were: West Bromwich, Hampstead and Highgate, and Beckenham and Penge.
The dashboard features data about Teaching School Hub areas for the first time, using the areas that came into effect in September 2024. Teaching School Hubs are school-led centres of excellence focused on professional development for teachers in a specific geographic area.
The tool aims to increase understanding of the nature of the teacher supply challenge, inform stakeholders by highlighting specific challenges, and support policymakers and decision-makers to take action to address teacher shortages in the areas where they are most prevalent.
Also broken down by local authority, the data compares regional data with national averages.
To highlight some of the key insights available through the dashboard, NFER senior economist Michael Scott has written a blog focusing on the disadvantage gap and how this relates to workforce issues.
Other insights gained from the dashboard include:
- While Covid-19 presented schools with many challenges, some key teacher recruitment and retention outcomes improved during the pandemic. For example, spending on supply staff reached a low point, since at least 2015/16. This has now been reversed, with supply staff spending rapidly accelerating after 2020/21.
- The proportion of teaching in key secondary subjects like maths, English and science by a teacher with a relevant qualification has been declining over recent years. For maths, this has been true since around 2016.
- London has the highest rate of teacher shortages in both primary and secondary schools, and this has been consistently true over the last nine years. Teachers in London schools are also more likely to leave their school and the sector each year too.
- Outside of London, recruitment and retention challenges appear to be spread across the country relatively evenly. For example, the local authority districts with the highest rate of vacancies or temporarily filled roles in secondary schools in 2023/24 were: Bradford, North East Lincolnshire, Ipswich, Epping Forest in Essex, and Rossendale in Lancashire.
NFER School Workforce Lead, Jack Worth, said:
“The enhanced data dashboard is user-friendly and accessible. It will support local and national decision-makers in addressing teacher shortages in areas struggling the most.
“This initiative reflects NFER’s ongoing commitment to equipping policymakers and system leaders with the tools and insights necessary to develop effective strategies for improving teacher recruitment and retention.”
Dr Emily Tanner, Education Programme Head, the Nuffield Foundation, said:
“By collating data into a user-friendly tool, the data dashboard facilitates quick and easy access to granular information about teacher shortages, supporting targeted interventions that will ultimately benefit pupils."