CHARTERED COLLEGE COMMENTS ON SCHOOL WORKFORCE STATISTICS

The Chartered College of Teaching has today (28 June) issued the following statement in response to the annual publication of School Workforce statistics.
The statistics find that the overall number of teachers in England have fallen (including a decline in the number of teachers entering the profession).
Professor Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching, commented on the figures:
“With the news today that teacher numbers have fallen, it is unquestionable that it puts the wellbeing of the profession further at risk which will likely impact the attainment of pupils.
We are still asking for more from our teachers, and expecting them to constantly meet high standards. Teachers face increasing classroom sizes and the perfect storm of a growing number of their colleagues leaving the profession and the number of qualified entrants continuing to fall.

At the Chartered College of Teaching we know that teachers need to feel supported to deliver the best possible education for children and young people. However, this will be more and more challenging. As teachers face longer working hours and increasing classroom sizes it will only lead to more teachers seeking to leave. Teachers cannot work any harder than they already are. That is why it is more important than ever that all areas of the profession are working together. We need to see more people entering and staying in the profession. If that’s to happen, we need to support teachers across all areas of the profession, from the newly qualified right through to leaders of schools. Teachers need to be provided with the tools to work in the most informed way, given the opportunities to access CPD and develop their knowledge and we need to focus on their wellbeing. The Chartered College of Teaching is working to connect, inform and inspire teachers so we have a profession we can take pride in and one which thrives.”