James Zuccollo, Director for School Workforce at the Education Policy Institute, said: “It’s now clear that teaching’s heightened popularity during the pandemic was short lived, with ITT figures released today revealing a substantial decline in the numbers of people pursuing teaching as a career. While this year’s ITT data release differs slightly from earlier iterations, a 20% reduction in the overall number of people pursuing teaching training since last year is still a substantial decline. This decline in popularity raises questions over the Government’s decision to cut retention payments during the pandemic.
“It’s also clear that certain subjects were more affected than others, a likely result of graduates finding more competitive pay in occupations other than teaching. This is most seen through widespread failure to meet recruitment targets in STEM subjects, with recruitment of physics teachers falling 83% short of the government’s target. Similarly, it’s concerning that the overall attainment of graduates entering the profession is declining, with 75% holding a first class or 2:1 degree this year, down from 78% last year despite more graduates attaining these grades across the population. In each case, teaching must be placed on a more equal footing with competitor career routes graduates have access to.”
You can find DfE’s Initial Teacher Training Census 2022 here.
