At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has partnered with Teach First and IG Group to host an open fringe panel discussion: 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 and teachers in the most disadvantaged secondary schools were twice as likely to report that their department was not well-staffed with suitably qualified teachers. This begs the question: how can we get effective teachers to where they are needed most?
Following opening remarks from June Felix, CEO 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 are delighted to welcome a fantastic panel of Geoff Barton, ASCL; Russell Hobby, Teach First; Tony McGuinness, All Saints Catholic High School; Stephen Morgan MP, Shadow Minister for Schools Natalie Perera, EPI.
** 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 Labour Party.**
