Over the last five years, our annual member survey has shone a light on the extent and depth of the teacher supply crisis facing schools. 

2018's survey once again paints a depressingly familiar picture, with members continuing to report difficulties in recruiting. In 2018, over three quarters (76%) indicated that it was difficult to recruit across all posts; of these 14% failed to recruit at all. Our survey records big increases in those telling us they’re struggling to recruit to senior leadership (particularly for heads of school), while difficulties with recruitment to middle leadership roles continue to be pronounced. Recruitment difficulties continued to be exacerbated by the exodus of existing teachers and school leaders from the profession.

We asked our members about retention; 67% of respondents said they were aware of some of their staff having left the teaching profession in the last year for reasons other than retirement. These findings come as no surprise. They echo official statistics and many academic studies; underlining data that demonstrates that the proportion of working-age teachers leaving the profession has increased each year since 2010, in both the primary and secondary phases. With overall pupil numbers expected to continue to rise, pressure on teacher supply is likely to increase further in the coming years. ​

Download the report here.