In February the House of Commons Education Select Committee published its report on the retention and recruitment of teachers. The report stated that the “number of different routes into teaching are not always understood by applicants and can be confusing”. The Department for Education (DfE) has responded by saying it has been “working to improve the support available”, aiming to make the application process more straightforward, while also emphasising the extent of existing support that applicants can access.
The report also called for the government to pursue its plan of launching a “national vacancy website which would be free to schools”. The DfE confirmed that it plans to produce information and guidance, including case studies, which will assist schools with advertising jobs at a low cost, as well as developing “common standards for vacancy adverts and application forms”. The government agreed to create a vacancy website, “if there is sufficient benefit” in doing so. The completion of exit interviews was another key ask by the committee; the department said it “would welcome the contribution that this would make to help understand why teachers leave the profession”.