'Nowhere near enough' secondary teachers being recruited
Hayden Llewellyn, the Education Workforce Council (EWC) chief executive, gave evidence to the Senedd education committee's inquiry on recruitment and retention on June 5
Mr Llewellyn identified a clear pattern in initial teacher education, with recruitment problems centred on secondaries and 'no problem' in primary schools.
The head of the workforce regulator said the Welsh Government aims for about 600 primary teachers to be trained each year, with that number overdelivered in August 2024.
But he warned of a stark picture for secondaries, saying ministers are seeking to train about 1,000 teachers each year but the EWC issued 369 certificates, according to the latest data.
'About a third of the number of secondary teachers that Wales is looking for were managing to train,' he said, adding that a further 34 trained through an Open University route.
Mr Llewellyn stated the trend for secondary schools has gotten worse over the past ten to 20 years, with improvements during the pandemic 'dropping back significantly'.
He told Senedd members: 'I'm sorry to say, having tracked recruitment and retention for many years – I can't really see secondary improving.'
He explained recruitment in some subjects – such as PE, history and geography – is fine but maths, English, sciences, Welsh and modern foreign languages are particularly low.
Mr Llewellyn raised the example of 27 maths teachers being turned out in August, with Wales looking for nearer 130. 'It's the lowest I've ever seen over the years,' he said, adding that Wales wanted 80 to 90 Welsh teachers but only 20 completed training in 2024.
He pointed to EWC data showing 75 per cent of those teaching maths are trained in the subject and, speaking more generally, he said the number is lower still for sciences. He warned: 'Given the picture with recruitment, we could see that picture deteriorating.'
Mr Llewellyn raised the example set by Scotland where teachers' registration is linked to a specific subject or phase. 'You cannot teach a subject you're not trained in,' he said.
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