Responding to new figures which show there were more than 8,000 fewer trainee teachers in 2022/23 than the previous year, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union, NAHT said:

“Today’s teacher training recruitment figures paint a depressingly familiar picture of a profession that faces an intractable supply crisis at every level, from graduate entry to leadership aspiration and retention. 

"The new government clearly recognises this –  and we hope this is the last time we are presented with such difficult figures. We look forward to working with ministers and officials to tackle the causes of the crisis, rather than the symptoms.  

“Immediate progress can be swiftly made to reduce stress and ill-health by removing single word or phrase inspection judgements from inspection reports; and bearing down on a whole raft of unnecessary workload burdens. 

"For example, abolition of performance related pay progression, removal of publication requirements for schools on how they use the pupil and sports premium, and a commitment to pause statutory changes to sharing pupil attendance data would yield immediate benefits.”