Education workforce challenges in England

This project expands on previous Nuffield-funded research analysing the key trends affecting teacher supply and shortages in England, encompassing the early years and further education (FE) workforces alongside school teachers and support staff.  

Why this project is important

The education workforce in England faces significant supply challenges. The Government pledged to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers and expand childcare entitlement, necessitating 35,000 additional staff by 2025. Current research highlights crisis-level recruitment and retention issues, particularly in shortage subjects and pay disparities.

Independent monitoring and analysis of workforce trends are crucial to inform policy decisions, fill evidence gaps, and address neglected workforce challenges, such as FE teacher workload and support staff post-pandemic supply issues.

What it will involve

The research team will answer three questions:

1. What are the overarching trends and future prospects for the supply and demand of different staff groups within the education workforce in England (including early years practitioners/ educators, schoolteachers, FE teachers and school support staff)?
2. What are the key trends in recruitment, retention, vacancies, pay and working conditions among staff groups within the education workforce in England and how might they impact on future supply? How do the challenges differ between the respective staff groups?
3. Is the Government likely to meet its key education workforce objectives and, if not, what does the research evidence suggest are the best available policy and practice solutions for doing so?

The exact analytical plan, interpretation, conclusions, and policy recommendations might evolve in response to shifts in policy focus and new data becoming available. The analysis will include the following:

• Annual monitoring and decomposing of the progress made towards achieving the 6,500-teacher target.
• Trends in teacher recruitment and retention based on administrative data, pupil projection statistics, and initial teacher training enrolments, complemented by wider evidence on teachers.
• Trends in FE teacher numbers, pay, and subject-specific vacancies and early years staff numbers, qualifications, child:staff ratios, entrants, and turnover rates.
• Trends in support staff pay, contracts, and turnover rates, broken down by staff sub-groups.
• Pay and working conditions for different staff groups and how these compare to similar individuals working in other sectors.

How it will make a difference

Findings will be shared with ministers, civil servants, special advisors, sector associations, and unions through annual reports, webinars, and sector conferences. Direct engagement with key policymakers and influences will support the dissemination of research insights and their implications.