UK Inquiry Tracker

Increasing teacher numbers: Secondary and further education

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 26 Mar 2025 Closed: 22 Sep 2025 Parliament page

Teacher recruitment and retention has been a challenge for over ten years. The Department for Education (DfE) has predicted that the secondary school population will peak in 2026/27, with secondary school pupil-to-teacher ratios at their highest since 2010. DfE laid out a vision in 2022 for every child to be … Read more Teacher recruitment and retention has been a challenge for over ten years. The Department for Education (DfE) has predicted that the secondary school population will peak in 2026/27, with secondary school pupil-to-teacher ratios at their highest since 2010. DfE laid out a vision in 2022 for every child to be taught by an excellent teacher by 2030. Its teacher recruitment and retention strategy was published in 2019 , setting out priorities for making sure a career in teaching is attractive, sustainable and rewarding. The PAC reported on retaining and developing the teaching workforce in 2018 , finding that Government failures on teacher numbers was adding to pressure on schools. The report highlighted a growing sense of crisis for schools in England struggling to retain and develop their workforces. A 2016 report on training new teachers called for an urgent review of teacher training in England, while concluding that the Government was failing to understand the difficulties many schools were facing in recruiting teachers. The National Audit Office’s (NAO) 2025 report on ensuring sufficient teachers in secondary and further education examined DfE’s approach to identifying and meeting teacher workforce needs. Based on the NAO report, the PAC will hear from senior DfE officials on subjects including: The workforce required in secondary and further education; Government decision-making on where to invest or intervene to address need; and Progress in addressing recruitment and retention issues. If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Monday 5 May 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less

2 Recommendations

25 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

2 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 6 events

24 Nov
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education relating to the increase of teacher numbers, 14 November 2025

15 Oct
2025

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-eighth report from Session 2024-26

9 Jul
2025

Report published

38th Report - Increasing teacher numbers: Secondary and further education

9 Jun
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session held on 19 May …

19 May
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

19 May
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

19 May 2025

View on parliament.uk

Julia Kinniburgh · Department for Education Juliet Chua · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
38th Report - Increasing teacher numbers: Secondary and further …	HC 825	9 Jul 2025	27	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

10 results

7 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Department lacks clear baseline and milestones for 6,500 teacher recruitment pledge

We asked the Department what baseline it was using to measure whether 6,500 additional teachers had been recruited. It told us it had not set a year as a baseline, but that the number of teachers would be more than … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation to set out how it plans to deliver the pledge for 6,500 additional teachers.

HM Treasury

View details

9 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Department allocated £700 million for diverse teacher recruitment and retention initiatives

In 2024–25, the Department budgeted to spend around £700 million across a range of initiatives, other than pay and pensions, designed to improve teacher recruitment and retention.20 Of this, £390 million (49%) related to financial incentives. This included training bursaries … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation to set out how it plans to deliver the pledge for 6,500 additional teachers.

HM Treasury

View details

12 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Department's teacher recruitment targets overly focus on initial training routes

We were interested to understand why the Department only has targets for those starting initial teacher training in primary and secondary schools, when this is just one of several entry routes into teaching.27 In the year to November 2023, 41% … Read more

Government Response

The department continues to review the balance between recruitment and retention measures and is undertaking an evaluation of the Targeted Retention Incentive to better understand its impact on the workforce in colleges, while considering whether to adopt its target setting approach for ITT routes in future years.

HM Treasury

View details

20 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Experienced teachers lack financial incentives and structured support, limiting their retention in the profession.

The Department does not offer experienced teachers any financial incentives to stay, such as bursaries or retention payments, or structured support, such as the Early Career Framework for those with up to two years of experience. The Department’s ability to … Read more

Government Response

The department is engaging with partners to understand potential areas for reform of the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document, promoting the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter and is developing and promoting the Improve Workload and Wellbeing for School Staff service, as well as publishing non-statutory guidance, a flexible working toolkit, and delivering a culture change programme across schools and multi-academy trusts to support flexible working.

HM Treasury

View details

22 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Teacher pay has significantly declined in real terms, impacting recruitment and retention competitiveness.

The Department regards pay as its strongest lever in recruiting and retaining teachers. For example, following the most recent 5.5% pay award, the Department reduced its teacher trainee targets as it expected 2,500 more teachers to stay. However, teacher pay … Read more

Government Response

The government highlights evidence suggesting that pay can be an effective lever and mentions growing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of specific targeted financial measures, like bursaries and retention payments, and for non-financial interventions.

HM Treasury

View details

23 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Department's influence on teacher pay varies, with no pay review body for further education colleges.

The Department’s influence on teacher pay differs across schools and colleges. For secondary schools, the Department sets teacher pay ranges based on advice from a pay review body. Local-authority- maintained schools must apply these ranges, whilst academies set their own … Read more

Government Response

The government states it continues to assess interventions for recruitment and retention, setting out its view on pay and providing evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body while monitoring the impact of funding decisions on pay in FE.

HM Treasury

View details

24 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Department lacks comprehensive analysis comparing cost-effectiveness of incentives against direct teacher pay increases.

We asked the Department if it has assessed whether spending on initiatives such the Early Career Framework (£131 million budget in 2024–25) provides better outcomes than simply increasing teachers’ pay. The Department did not confirm if it had undertaken this … Read more

Government Response

The government states that evidence suggests pay can be an effective lever at scale but that evidence is growing on the effectiveness and value for money of specific targeted financial measures, like bursaries and retention payments, and for non-financial interventions.

HM Treasury

View details

25 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Secondary school teaching vacancies significantly increased, impacting pupil achievement and specialist subjects.

In 2023–24, 46% of secondary schools in England reported at least one vacant teaching position, more than double the figure of 17% in 2010–11.72 When we asked the Department how this has affected student outcomes, it told us the quality … Read more

Government Response

The government recognizes variations in school and FE recruitment and retention and is evaluating the impact of TRI on teacher retention, with reports expected in 2027 and 2028, and will work with stakeholders to understand variances in the workforce and inform future policy.

HM Treasury

View details

26 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Disadvantaged schools suffer higher teacher turnover, fewer experienced staff, and limited pupil opportunities.

Those schools with higher proportions of disadvantaged pupils tend to have higher turnover rates and less experienced teachers.77 This impacts the government’s mission of breaking down the barriers to opportunity and means disadvantaged children are at risk of being locked … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

View details

27 Conclusion Acknowledged

38th Report - Increasing teacher n…

Further education colleges struggle with high specialist teaching vacancies due to uncompetitive salaries.

Further education colleges have higher vacancy rates than schools, with challenges across certain subjects, particularly those that are more specialist.82 We asked the Department why further education colleges find it difficult to keep specialist teachers. The Department said it sees … Read more

Government Response

The government recognizes variations in FE recruitment and retention and is evaluating the impact of TRI on teacher retention, with reports expected in 2027 and 2028, and will work with stakeholders to understand variances in the workforce and inform future policy.

HM Treasury

View details

Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 2 classified

Accepted 17

Acknowledged 10

Total 2 recs + 25 conclusions

Correspondence 2 letters

24 Nov 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education relating to the increase of teacher numbers, 14 November 2025

Parliament page

9 Jun 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education relating to the follow up on the oral evidence session held on 19 May on Increasing teacher numbers: Secondary and further education, 02 June 2025

Parliament page