PAC warns of unclear delivery plan for teacher pledge
In further education, the PAC estimates up to 12,400 additional teachers may be needed by 2028–29
A government pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers “lacks clarity on delivery, measurement or impact”, a parliamentary report has warned.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Department for Education (DfE) has “no coherent plan” or evidence-based approach to addressing teacher shortages, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Its report follows over a decade of persistent shortfalls in recruitment and retention.
Workload remains the most common reason for teachers leaving, while pupil behaviour is an increasing concern. The PAC said the DfE does not fully understand the causes of either issue, despite recognising their importance. The proportion of teachers citing behaviour as a reason for leaving rose from 32% to 44% between 2023 and 2024.
Although the DfE is trialling behaviour hubs and has launched a wellbeing charter, just 17% of schools and colleges have signed up. The PAC recommends expanding these hubs if effective and exploring more flexible working and reduced workloads.
The report also calls for a better evaluation of spending on teacher initiatives. It questions whether £131m allocated to the Early Career Framework in 2024–25 offers more value than raising teacher pay – a factor the DfE recognises as critical but has not fully assessed in relation to other schemes.
In further education, the PAC estimates up to 12,400 additional teachers may be needed by 2028–29. In 2022–23, one in 20 positions remained vacant. The committee has urged the DfE to provide a full update on how it intends to meet the teacher pledge, especially in colleges where shortages are acute.
The report highlights disparities in disadvantaged schools, where 34% of teachers have under five years’ experience – compared with 20% in more advantaged areas. Specialist staff are also harder to find: Computing has a 1.4% vacancy rate compared to 0.8% across secondary subjects. Nearly a third of the most disadvantaged schools do not offer A-level Computer Science, and 9% do not offer A-level Physics.
PAC member Sarah Olney MP said the challenges facing teachers were “increasingly difficult” and called for the government to seriously consider working conditions and pay as part of its strategy. She added: “If the recommendations in our report are followed, the government will have an explicit answer, based on its own analysis, on whether it is time to offer teachers more flexibility, and/or to pay them more.”
