Responding to the publication of the Department for Education’s
postgraduate initial
teacher training targets for 2024 to 2025, Geoff Barton,
General Secretary of the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“Postgraduate initial teacher training recruitment to secondary
subjects was a disaster last year with the government missing its
target by 50% - including just 17% of the required number of
physics teachers. Given these circumstances, the decision to
reduce the 2024/25 target for secondary postgraduate trainees –
whatever the technical explanation – will be regarded with
suspicion as it obviously looks like an attempt to make the
recruitment figures look better. This perception will be
reinforced by the fact that some of the adjustments downwards are
in key shortage subjects including physics and modern foreign
languages.
“Whatever the changes to targets, the fact remains that we have a
critical shortage of teachers in our schools and colleges – and
that the only real solution to this is for the government to
improve pay and address the systemic pressures which drive
workload pressures. This is not only necessary in terms of
initial teacher training recruitment but in terms of staff
retention which is of vital importance in improving what is a
pretty desperate situation.”
