Further Education: Teachers

(asked on 24th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ahead of the spending review of the effect of trends in the level of (1) pay, and (2) workload, on the recruitment and retention of teachers in the further education sector.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 3rd July 2019

Further Education (FE) providers are private sector institutions, independent from the government, and so are responsible for setting their own staff pay and conditions. However, we acknowledge that FE faces cost pressures, and that this can impact on teacher pay and workload. The department will be making a strong case for increased FE funding, including for investment in FE teacher recruitment and retention ahead of the Spending Review.

We value our FE teachers and all the excellent work they do, which is why, since 2013-14, we have invested over £140 million in FE teachers and leaders. This includes workforce development through the independent Education and Training Foundation.

The department has worked closely with the FE sector, including providers and representative bodies, to understand the challenges for teacher recruitment and retention, and see where we can provide appropriate support. We have also commissioned research on the impact of previous incentives which is attached and available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incentive-programmes-for-the-recruitment-and-retention-of-teachers-in-further-education-fe.

Research has also been conducted looking at comparable professions which is attached and available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identifying-fe-teacher-comparators. These research projects have been commissioned to inform our planning for the upcoming Spending Review.

Ultimately, we know that lower teacher pay makes recruitment and retention more difficult in FE when compared to school teaching and relevant industries. We also know that workload is often one of the main reasons given for leaving the profession. Our Workload Reduction Toolkit, developed by system leaders, teachers and other experts (though aimed primarily at school teachers and leaders) can also be used by FE providers. The Toolkit is attached and available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reducing-workload-in-your-school.

More widely, we know that ensuring teacher wellbeing is essential, which is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced earlier this year the establishment of an expert advisory group on wellbeing. This group brings together experts from the wellbeing, schools and FE fields who are providing expert advice and working with us to look at what government, FE colleges and others can do to promote staff wellbeing.

Reticulating Splines