Chapter 1: Introduction

When the Guardian reported on the 12th September 2023 that,

It highlighted the latest missed target from a long period characterised by poor levels of new teacher recruitment, a trend which has been shadowed by worsening levels of teacher retention of those already in the profession. As we will show in this book, England is experiencing a serious and ever worsening problem with teacher supply. Since 2015, the government has reached its own annual targets for recruitment only once, despite the variety of teacher training programmes which have been created to entice those who wish to enter the teaching profession. This has led to a deepening supply issue, meaning that schools are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit good teachers when they require them. The deficit is currently unequally spread geographically, but if the current trend continues then the problem will spread.