Welsh Government announces plan to tackle teacher recruitment challenges

The Welsh Government has announced new plans to help tackle teacher recruitment and retainment challenges facing schools in Wales.

In a statement released by Education Secretary Lynne Neagle on Monday (January 13), she said the “strategic” reforms would ensure a focus on “delivery and improvement” in the education workforce.

For many years, the number of people training to be teachers did not meet Welsh Government targets.

Teaching unions have expressed concern about recruitment and retention, with NAHT Cymru characterising it as a “crisis”.

Pressures

Ms Neagle said today she had begun discussions with the sector to develop a strategic education workforce plan for schools and early years settings in the first instance.

She said: “My focus is on boosting standards in our schools and colleges. The continued commitment of our workforce is central to achieving this.

“This is why we gave teachers a very deserved 5.5% pay rise last year, meaning that the starting salary for a new teacher is £32,433.

“I recognise the scale of the various challenges across education in Wales. We need to focus on getting our existing programme of reforms right – on the Curriculum for Wales, on improving additional learning needs support and on school improvement.

“Along with countries across the world, we see issues in recruitment and retention, and concerns around the wellbeing of teachers, school leaders and support staff.”

Expectations 

The Education Secretary said increasing workload pressures were having an impact on the workforces ability to undertake planning and administrative tasks alongside teaching.

Ms Neagle said: “Society’s expectations of what we expect from our schools has changed. The cost-of-living crisis, increasing complex health needs of learners, and changes in society’s expectations of what schools should do, all have an impact.

“Pressures on wider public services mean children need greater levels of support to be ready to engage with learning.

“Leaders and practitioners highlight that this has changed the experience and nature of teaching, and the role of a teacher. Leaders, teachers and teaching assistants are spending more time addressing these issues, which has a knock-on effect on teaching and learning.”

“This is beginning to impact on the attractiveness of teaching as a profession. All staff – leaders, teaching professionals, support staff – play a critical role in the life of the school and the progress of children and young people. It is critical to get the balance right in terms of workload, experience, as well as pay and conditions.

‘Tinkering’

The newly appointed Shadow Education Secretary, Natasha Asghar, accused Ms Neagle of “tinkering” with reforms.

She said: “Labour has had 26 years to fix the problems they have created in education, yet their failure to address the recruitment and retention crisis in our schools is a glaring indictment of their incompetence.

“Under Labour’s watch staff remain overwhelmed by the growing demands of the job. Instead of addressing these issues head-on, Labour has spent years tinkering with reforms that have done little to relieve the strain on our educators.

“Labour’s neglect has turned teaching from a respected vocation into an unsustainable career for many. Their last-minute effort to craft a ‘strategic workforce plan’ is too little, too late for the thousands of teachers who have already left the profession due to lack of support.”