Strategic Board Teacher Education Meeting papers – May 2023

Strategic Board Teacher Education Meeting papers – May 2023

Challenges related to recruitment to initial teacher education programmes and subsequent teacher retention.

Strategic Board for Teacher Education Paper to the Scottish Education Council – 27 April 2023.

Purpose

1. The purpose of this paper is to outline the current situation, challenges and possible actions that can be taken to increase recruitment to initial teacher education (ITE) programmes and the subsequent retention of individuals entering the teaching profession.

2. This paper has been developed by the Strategic Board for Teacher Education (SBTE) and is based on initial discussions that have taken place within SBTE and the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group (TWPAG).

Aims and Priorities

3. SBTE aims for the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland are to ensure that we have the right numbers of qualified teachers, in the right places, with the right areas of expertise, representing the diversity of Scottish society, in order to support improved learning and societal outcomes for all children and young people, whatever their background, circumstances and wherever they are being educated.

4. In order to help achieve these aims, the SBTE propose four key priorities that require collective action from partners across the education sector in order to be achieved.

Priority 1 – Increased Resource Demand Analysis

Local and national teacher resource demands are better understood to improve longer-term workforce planning. This includes tackling geographical challenges and ensuring targets for ITE programmes are set and met accordingly, particularly at secondary level and for hard to fill subjects such as science, technologies, mathematics, modern languages and Gaelic.

Priority 2 – Reducing Barriers to Becoming a Teacher

The barriers to individuals with protected characteristics such as race, religion or disability entering or staying in the teaching profession are better understood and reduced.

Priority 3 – Increased Support for Early Career Teachers

Teachers in the early phase of their careers experience more consistent mentoring and coaching to increase their confidence, motivation and satisfaction, raising retention rates after achieving full registration with the General Teaching Council (GTC) for Scotland.

Priority 4 – Improving the Promotion of Teaching as a Valued Career

Teachers are valued and teaching is recognised and better promoted as important, complex and impactful work, improving the attractiveness of teaching as a career.

Current Position

5. To understand what action may be required, it is important to understand how the current position maps against the aims and priorities outlined above.

ITE Intakes

6. Figure 1 shows percentage of recruitment against targets in Scotland for the various ITE programmes at Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) since 2020. More detailed information is contained in table 1 in Annex A.

7. Figure 1 demonstrates that primary undergraduate, and primary Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) targets were achieved or exceeded each year. Secondary undergraduate shows a downward trend, with 88% uptake in 2022 compared to 98% in 2020. Secondary PGDE intakes show a more significant downward trend from 92% in 2020, 85% in 2021 and 61% in 2022.

8. There are particular challenges in meeting secondary PGDE intake targets in science, technologies, mathematics and modern language subjects, as shown in figure 2. For example, in 2022/23 there was an intake of 114 maths students compared to a target of 250 (46%) and an intake of 48 chemistry students compared to a target of 159 (30%). More detailed information is contained in table 2 in Annex A.

9. The Scottish Government is also committed to encouraging new Gaelic Medium Education (GME) primary and secondary schools by increasing the number of teachers who can teach in the medium of Gaelic. Figure 2 shows that secondary PGDE ITE intake dropped to 33% against target in 2022/23 (target was 9, intake was 3). It is recognised that this is a complex issue with the lack of Gaelic teachers leading to arguably less opportunity to study Gaelic and subsequently support a pathway to becoming a teacher of Gaelic.

Geographical Challenges

10. Rural local authorities report recruitment issues across both the primary and secondary sector. This has previously been considered by the SBTE. A more recent press article regarding Aberdeenshire noted there were 47 secondary vacancies advertised in January 2023 and none were filled. The reasons behind this are likely to include issues such as transport and housing costs. Local authorities do have the option to offer incentives to encourage teachers to take up posts and several initiatives have been implemented.

Impact of the Covid Pandemic

11. The impact of the Covid pandemic on teacher recruitment and retention also needs to be investigated and better understood. Research in England has suggested that the challenging contexts faced by trainee teachers during the pandemic may risk them having insufficient experience leading to increased attrition rates of early career teachers. The research did also note, however, that the experience of training to teach during the pandemic- has not been wholly negative for trainees and the flexibility and resilience that the situation has necessitated may even impact positively on professional development and a desire to remain in the profession.

Diversity in the Teaching Profession

12. A Scottish Government priority is to ensure that we have a teaching profession which reflects the diversity of our communities with the ambition that 4% of teachers identify as coming from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds by 2030. As at 2017 this figure was 1.4% and by 2021-22 had increased to 1.8%.

13. In 2021-22, 165 or 4.5% of UK-domiciled entrants to ITE programmes at Scottish HEIs came from ethnic minority backgrounds. The proportion of entrants from ethnic minorities was higher on postgraduate courses at 5.2% compared to undergraduate courses at 3.4%. All three percentages are noticeably higher than 2016-17 when only 2.7% of UK-domiciled entrants were from an ethnic minority background, including 3.3% and 1.3% to postgraduate and undergraduate courses respectively. A six-year time series is shown in tables 3 and 4 in Annex A.

14. The Scottish Government also supports student teachers to undertake the Catholic Teachers' Certificate (CTC) to ensure a supply of appropriately qualified teachers in denominational schools. A recent analysis by the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Catholic Education Service shows that across Scotland there is a significant number of teachers permanently employed in denominational schools who do not hold the CTC yet are expected to have it. The analysis also shows 156 primary vacancies and 66 secondary vacancies in denominational schools (6% and 3% of the overall staffing complement respectively)

Comparison with other countries

15. Issues relating to teacher recruitment and retention are not unique to Scotland and are being seen in developed education systems across the world. For example, the National Foundation for Educational Research's 2023 annual Teacher Labour Market report monitors the progress the school system in England is making towards meeting the teacher supply challenge. The report highlights that schools posted 93% more vacancies in 2022/23 compared to the year before the pandemic and Initial Teacher Training recruitment in 2022/23 was 20% lower than in the year before the pandemic.

16. The International Summit on the Teaching Profession, which brings together education ministers, unions and teacher leaders from high-performing education systems, are due to hold their annual summit in April 2023. The agenda includes the issue of teacher shortages due to factors such as the pandemic, lack of respect for the profession and inhospitable working environments. Research is also showing recruitment challenges in Australia, Canada and the USA.

Priorities and Proposed Actions

Priority 1 – Increased Resource Demand Analysis

17. In order to improve longer term workforce planning and ensure that ITE intake targets are set and met at the right level, it would be helpful to have more detail on local approaches to workforce planning across all Scottish local authorities and consider whether a more consistent approach may be helpful in achieving effective long term planning.

18. SBTE can work with COSLA to develop an effective way to ensure local information is strengthened in the teacher workforce planning process. This exercise needs to acknowledge that each local authority has its own unique challenges and there won't be a one size fits all solution. It will also be important in planning for the implications of the Scottish Government's proposed reduction to class contact time.

19. Gaining a better insight of workforce planning processes and pressures across the country should also be helpful in understanding teacher shortages in certain geographical areas and in developing strategies to tackle these shortages.

20. The Scottish Government has previously supported a number of HEIs to deliver a range of alternative routes into teaching. For example, allowing students to gain HND qualifications and move into ITE in STEM subjects, and enabling distanced learning. Some of these initiatives are still in operation. It would be helpful to systematically revisit and assess these alternative routes, determine which were successful and ascertain whether they could be reinvigorated or built upon. SBTE can work with GTC Scotland, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE) and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on this area.

21. All applicants to ITE programmes must meet the Memorandum on Entry Requirements to Initial Teacher Education (2019). For PGDE Secondary programmes, applicants need to satisfy HEIs that they hold relevant degree level qualifications to qualify as subject specialist teachers. SBTE is aware that GTC Scotland is preparing for the five year cyclical review of the Memorandum and will use this opportunity to consider what review of current expectations may be required, noting that any proposed changes are subject to statutory consultation.

22. It would be helpful to get views from SEC on how to improve longer term workforce planning and ensure ITE intake targets are set and met accordingly.

Priority 2 – Reducing Barriers to Becoming a Teacher

23. The Scottish Government's Anti-Racism in Education Programme has a workstream dedicated to increasing the racial diversity of the teaching profession by addressing barriers to recruitment, retention and promotion. Work underway which will contribute to that ambition includes: considering effective recruitment practices in local authorities which mitigate the barriers which BME teachers can experience; and working with the SCDE to encourage ITE providers to engage with, and implement the recommendations in the Council's new anti-racism in ITE framework.

24. Work is also being taken forward by the Diversity in the Teaching Profession and Education Workforce sub group to consider local authorities' approaches to recruitment and recruitment of BME teachers in particular and how emerging practice can be shared with and potentially replicated in other areas.

25. Engagement with partners on the SBTE such as the Scottish Catholic Education Service and SCDE will also help us better understand issues related to teacher recruitment and retention in denominational schools and look to develop new approaches to overcome them.

26. Work could also be undertaken with HEIs to consider targeting ITE programmes to defined groups, such as individuals who have a disability.

27. It would be helpful to get views from SEC on other areas that could be explored to reduce barriers to becoming a teacher for individuals with protected characteristics.

Priority 3 – Increased Support for Early Career Teachers

28. There is general agreement that support in the early phase of a teachers career (1-5 years) is vital and will strengthen role satisfaction and retention rates. The move from ITE to probation is formally supported through the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) with reduced class contact time and dedicated time for support and development. It is noted that not all teachers enter TIS, instead taking the flexible route to achieving full registration with GTC Scotland. Employers of teachers are encouraged to provide effective support for all individuals progressing from provisional to full registration regardless of the route taken. However, once probation has finished and teachers have achieved the Standard for Full Registration there is variable availability of ongoing support.

29. SBTE could give further consideration to address inconsistencies in support and identify gaps in development opportunities. For example, there is an opportunity to consider how best to support experienced teachers who provide support to early career teachers through and beyond the probation period. An exploration of the role of the 'school based teacher educator' would also be of value.

30. It would also be helpful to better understand the presumed cause and effect mechanisms underlying the retention of teachers to help ensure the most appropriate support strategies and structures are available across the country.

31. While the percentage of teachers on permanent contracts in Scotland has not changed significantly over recent years (82% in 2020, 81% in 2021 & 81% in 2022) it is clear that those new to the profession are finding it difficult to obtain permanent employment^[1]. The proportion of TIS probationers in full-time permanent posts in the year following their probation year is 33% and much lower than the high of 57% for the 2016/17 cohort^[2]. This is likely to be one of the drivers behind those choosing to leave the profession. SBTE/SG can work with COSLA to address this issue, as part of £145.5 million being provided in the 2023-24 budget is to ensure it assists employing teachers on permanent contracts.

32. It would be helpful to get views from SEC on how to better support teachers in the early phase of their careers and improve retention rates post-probation.

Priority 4 – Improving the Promotion of Teaching as a Valued Career

33. Studies suggest that individuals are put off becoming a teacher due to perceived low pay, workload, stress and working conditions^{[3] [4]}. Anecdotally we hear that teaching is often not considered a rewarding and fulfilling graduate career in the same way other degrees are.

34. The negative perception of teaching can also be found within the current profession. An EIS member survey from 2021^[5] found that almost 60% of respondents said they were unlikely or very unlikely to recommend teaching as a good profession to someone who is thinking of entering the profession.

35. UK union member surveys have also suggested that a significant number of teachers have considered leaving the teaching profession altogether^[6]. Reasons cited include workload and stress. To balance this research finding, it should also be noted that since December 2014 the number of school teachers in post in Scotland has increased by 8%, from 49,521 to 53,459 in December 2022^[7].

36. Work is required to shift public attitudes and improve the perception of teaching as a rewarding career with a strong sense of professional development, responsibility and the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of children and young people. It is important that we collectively seek opportunities to recognise this and positively promote the profession with the aim of improving teacher recruitment and retention.

37. It would be helpful for SEC to consider how the narrative around the value of teachers and the satisfaction that can be gained through teaching as a career is positively promoted.

Education Reform

38. As the Education Reform programme continues to develop we must ensure that the interdependencies and impacts those reforms, including revisions to qualifications and curriculum, may have on ITE programmes and teacher recruitment and retention are understood.

39. SEC are potentially in a unique position to consider the holistic impact of all aspects of reform and to provide guidance, support and challenge to SBTE to ensure the activities proposed in this paper synchronise with and complement wider system changes. It would be helpful to get SEC's view on this.

Conclusion

40. In summary, SEC are asked to consider the points set out above and the following questions:-

• Do SEC agree with the analysis of the situation presented here, including that we should increase the collective focus on this area?
• Are SEC content with the actions proposed to be led by SBTE? Are there other actions they would like to see SBTE take forward?
• Where can SEC add value in helping to achieve these priorities?
• How would SEC like to be kept updated on this as we move forward?

Jim Thewliss, SLS / Pauline Stephen, GTC Scotland. SBTE Reps. April 2023

Annex A

Source: HESA Student Data, SG analysis

Figures have been rounded to nearest 5. Therefore, sums may not equal totals.

Records only include primary and secondary education sector (i.e. where TQSSEC = 1, 2 or 5)

White includes: white, white Irish, white British, Irish traveller, gypsy or traveller and other white background.

Table 4 - UK-domiciled Entrants to ITE Programmes at Scottish HEIs by Level of Study, 2016-17 to 2021-22 (Percentage)

Source: HESA Student Data, SG analysis

Proportions based on rounded numbers due to low values.