Govt Spending Review last chance to recruit 6,500 teachers, NFER says
According to a new study funded by the Nuffield Foundation, teacher unfilled vacancy levels are at their highest rates since records began in 2010
The government Spending Review will be the “now or never” opportunity to recruit 6,500 new teachers, a new report from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) revealed.
According to NFER’s 2025 Teacher Labour Market in England Annual report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, teacher unfilled vacancy levels are at their highest rates since records began in 2010.
The study shows teacher leaving rates have not improved since before the pandemic and more leavers are of working age rather than retiring.
This, coupled with persistently low levels of recruitment into initial teacher training, is leading to “widespread” teacher shortages, with unfilled vacancies reaching six per thousand teachers in 2023/24 – double the pre-pandemic rate and six times higher than 2010/11.
The report explains that teacher supply policy actions, such as pay rises or workload reductions, typically take a year or two to improve staffing levels, and another year or two to show up in reporting data.
As a result of the data, the recommendations call for higher teacher pay, with increases above 3% in 2025/26 and at least 6.1% from 2026/27 to 2028/29, alongside financial incentives for shortage subjects. They also urge strategies to reduce workload, explore AI for lesson planning, improve behavior support with extra funding, and promote flexible working to boost retention.
Jack Worth, school workforce lead at NFER, and co-author of the report, said: “Teacher recruitment and retention in England remain in a perilous state, posing a substantial risk to the quality of education. The time for half measures is over. Fully funded pay increases that make teacher pay more competitive are essential to keeping teachers in the classroom and attracting new recruits.
“The upcoming Spending Review provides the Government with the ideal opportunity to show its long-term commitment to increase the attractiveness of teaching.Both schools and the Government are facing budgetary challenges, so making this happen is going to need careful planning.”
Dr Emily Tanner, programme head at the Nuffield Foundation, added: “It is deeply concerning that teacher shortages continue and that disadvantaged children are most strongly affected. NFER’s expert, independent analysis provides trustworthy evidence and identifies teacher pay, workload reduction, behaviour strategies and flexible working as the most promising areas for intervention.”