At this year’s Conservative Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has partnered with Teach First and IG Group to hold a panel event on ‘Tackling educational inequality and creating opportunities: How do we get good teachers to where they are needed most’.
Despite the surge in teacher recruitment during the pandemic, recruitment rates have now returned to pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, a recent survey found that 7 out of 10 teachers have considered resigning in the past year. As thoughts move towards life after the pandemic and fears over the need for job stability lessen, there is growing concern about increased teacher shortages through difficulties in both recruitment and retention.
Moreover, there are geographical disparities to the shortages. Schools serving disadvantaged communities experience greater recruitment difficulties which begs the question: how can we get effective teachers to where they are needed most?
Following opening remarks from Jon Noble, COO of IG Group, this event will look at the current school workforce landscape to discuss the drivers of teacher shortages and consider what can be done to boost teacher recruitment and retention. It will also discuss they key reasons behind the unequal distribution of teachers and how we can better attract and support teachers to work in challenging schools.
We look forward to welcoming Jonathan Gullis MP, Minister for School Standards; Hannah Herrmann, Hodge Hill College; Russell Hobby, Teach First; Jon Noble, IG Group and Jonathan Simons, Public First to the panel.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Conservative Party.**
