This NFER report reveals that a teacher pay increase of 6.5 per cent in 2023/24, as reportedly recommended by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), is unlikely to make a significant overall difference to long-term teacher supply on its own.
The research suggests a new long-term strategy is required to improve recruitment and retention, based on continually improving the competitiveness of teacher pay, well-targeted financial incentives, alongside action to improve the non-financial attractiveness of teaching.
The study, funded by the Gatsby Foundation, also suggests that if pay awards in 2024/25 and beyond merely match the anticipated growth in average earnings in the wider labour market then they are unlikely to significantly address the pressing recruitment and retention challenges.
The most significant supply challenges occur in secondary subjects, where undersupply has been most acutely evident for physics, computing, maths and chemistry teachers. Further undersupply of the specialist teachers in these subjects is a significant risk to delivering high-quality science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education in schools in England.
Chronic under-recruitment and higher-than-average leaving rates for maths and science has occurred for many years, primarily due to STEM graduates having relatively attractive career options outside of teaching, compared to teachers of other subjects.