'I couldn't imagine not teaching full-time - until I had my baby'
The government said Thursday's data showed there were 2,346 more teachers in secondary and special schools in England compared to last year.Responding to the data, the education secretary said the government was "delivering on our pledge to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers, with more joining the profession in our secondary and special schools and over a thousand more people intending to train to become teachers this year compared to last, fundamental to improving children's life chances."However, those figures have become a source of contention, with Conservative shadow education minister Neil O'Brien accusing Labour of "abandoning" their pledge by ignoring the falling number of teachers in state nurseries and primary schools, which had driven the overall numbers down.
Primary pupil numbers are decreasing, though, as birth rates fall, and staffing issues have been felt most acutely in secondary schools - particularly in specialist subjects like maths, science and languages.Computer science teacher Sam Alner says he loves the "dynamism" of teaching, but regularly wonders how long he can sustain it."Relentless is probably a word people would use when they talk about teaching," he says.Now 12 years into his teaching career, Sam is also vice principal at Bridge Academy in Hackney, east London, where more than half of the students receive free school meals.During the busy exam season, his day can begin at 05:00 and regularly finish late for parents' evenings, which he says can be "really, really full on".Sam has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon, saying he loves the "hustle" of school life. But he says he has seen other experienced staff members leaving to find a better work-life balance, or higher-salaried jobs, in recent years."There's always more you can do because you can always spend that little bit extra time on making a lesson better," Sam says."When you're young and fresh that's OK. But when you're having to make the choice between that work-life balance, I think that's when people look at teaching and go: 'I can't sustain or justify this.'"
For Sam's subject, computing, the government hit just 37% of its national target for recruiting new teachers for 2024-25.Data gathered by survey tool Teacher Tapp, commissioned by teaching charity Teach First, suggests 15% of schools in the poorest communities cannot offer computer science GCSE, compared to 4% of the wealthiest schools.Many schools in disadvantaged areas find it harder to recruit teachers, especially in specialist subjects, meaning disadvantaged pupils may have fewer opportunities, Teach First chief executive Russell Hobby says."What we really need is to flip the dial on that," he says."Otherwise, if we don't do that, we will continue to see these inequalities perpetuated."Dan Botting, executive principal of Portsmouth Academy, which also has a high proportion of pupils on free school meals, says finding staff to teach computing has been "really challenging" for his school.Coastal areas like Portsmouth have historically found it harder than other regions to recruit and retain teachers, so the school has had to be creative.A member of the senior leadership team has been retrained to deliver classes in computing, instead of "continuing to search for candidates that just aren't out there".They have had to limit the number of pupils who can take it at GCSE, Dan says, despite high demand - which he says has been a "shame".The school can provide for just one class of pupils per year for a GCSE in the subject at the moment, which Dan thinks "we could probably triple", as the students are enthusiastic about technology.
Portsmouth Academy works closely with local universities to try to recruit new graduate teachers, and has hosted a "get into teaching" event.Across all subjects, Dan says he believes it is crucial to recruit teachers who will stay in the profession long-term."It's really important to retain those people," he says, adding that it is crucial they have "the right skills and expertise to be able to deliver for the pupils who need it most".Additional reporting by William Dahlgreen
Act 'now or never' to hit 6,500 teachers target, report warnsTeacher mums who leave profession fuelling shortagesWould a 1.40pm Friday finish stop teachers quitting?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
UK students: are you working a full-time job while studying?
A report released last week from the Higher Education Policy Institute found that students in the UK today need to work more than 20 hours a week to meet a 'basic standard of living'. A similar study carried out last year by the same organisation found a record 56% of full-time undergraduates had paid employment while studying, with many working and studying an average 56-hours a week. This has come amid a rise in the cost of living, particularly housing, and experts have warned that those juggling the heavy combined workload are more at risk of dropping out. Are you a full-time student who also works a full-time job or a significant amount of hours? Why do you need to do this? What has been the impact of this on your studies and your own physical and mental health? You can tell us what it's like studying and working at the same time by filling in the form below. Please include as much detail as possible. Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first. If you're having trouble using the form click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
New flood defence scheme unveiled in Derringham area of Hull
An £8.3m scheme has been completed which has created a network of ponds to protect homes and businesses in an area of Hull prone to project in Derringham mimics natural drainage by using the ponds, known as aquagreens, to store water in times of heavy for the work began in the aftermath of the devastating 2007 floods in Hull in which 10,000 properties were damaged and further flooding in Charles Quinn, the portfolio holder for the environment at Hull City Council, said: "These [aquagreens] not only enhance biodiversity and community green spaces but they protect some very at-risk properties from flooding." "Hull is the second most 'at risk' area to flooding in the country after London. In 2007 Derringham was one of the worst-hit areas," he Brown is general manager of the Living with Water project - a partnership between Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, East Riding Council, the Environment Agency and the University of said £23m had been spent on flood resilience work across Hull and the East Riding in the past five years - and more work was planned."We've already seen some fantastic defence schemes built in the city and we've secured at least £26m for the next five years," she said. Rachel Glossop, Hull City Council's flood risk manager, said aquagreens stored excess water until it could slowly drain away once the sewer network had capacity."It's a scheme that's benefiting people in terms of reducing flood risk, but it's also benefiting ecology and wildlife by providing some much needed green spaces within an urban environment," she Hull is seen as especially vulnerable to surface water flooding. The floods of 2007 occurred after the city suffered the equivalent of a month's worth of rainfall in just 24 hours. The aquagreens in Derringham are designed to capture water directed down nearby alleyways, or 'ten foots' as they are known locally, and away from homes and schemes in Hull have incorporated permeable road surfaces and extra tree and bush planting to help slow the flow of water into the sewerage network. The projects are fitted with sensors and these are being monitored by scientists from The University of Stuart McLelland said the data they received would help to design future flood defences."We've got a number of probes monitoring water as it flows into the aquagreens and we're using that to see how they perform," he said."Hull is at risk from a number of different types of flooding and we need to better understand how these risks impact society."
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Share your experience of getting your dream job and it not working out
You've done it. After years of study, sacrifice or pure graft, you finally secured your dream job. But what happens when it doesn't work out? If your dream job turned sour, we would like to hear from you. Tell us your journey to your dream job. What went wrong? If it wasn't what you expected, did you leave? What did you do instead and how did your friends and family react? You can tell us how your dream job didn't work out by filling in the form below. Please include as much detail as possible. Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first. If you're having trouble using the form click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.
