Million Plus

The Education Select Committee will investigate the current state of teacher retention and recruitment, the main factors causing difficulties, and the impact on students. This includes assessing how well the current teacher training framework works to prepare new teachers, and how England's system compares internationally. The inquiry will look at steps the Department for Education has taken to address the challenges in recruitment and retention, including the impact of financial incentives, attempts to reduce workloads, and mental health support. The Committee will also look at how the education sector's problems with teacher recruitment, training and retention compare with other professions and sectors of the economy, and whether anything can be learned from those comparisons.

Modern universities have a long history of teacher education, and despite a diversification of routes into teaching over recent years, these institutions continue to be at the forefront of the field, both in terms of research into pedagogy and the practice of initial teacher training and education. In 2020–21, modern universities accounted for 67% of all initial teacher training students in the university sector, and 79% of those were studying the undergraduate pathway. Through our dedicated Deans of Education Network, we have worked closely with the Department for Education (DfE) on a range of issues in relation to Initial Teacher Education (ITE). MillionPlus institutions educate thousands of trainees across England each year, and this experience helps build a productive working relationship, leading to many positive developments in the field of ITE that have benefitted trainees, pupils, and the wider sector more generally.

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