Bridget Phillipson launches Labour push to recruit 6,500 new teachers

The new education secretary has pledged to recruit thousands of teachers just days after Labour took power in a landslide victory.

Bridget Phillipson announced on Monday that the Department of Education (DfE) will begin work on delivering the government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers.

As one of her first steps in post, the education secretary will write to all sector workforces to “make clear the valuable role” they will play in the Labour government’s agenda.

Ms Phillipson will hold a reception with key education stakeholders later this week, as well as making it a priority to meet with teaching unions in the coming days.

She said: “From day one, we are delivering the change this country demands and putting education back at the forefront of national life. We will work urgently to recruit thousands of brilliant new teachers and reset the relationship between government and the education workforce.

“For too long the teaching profession has been talked down, sidelined and denigrated. I have made it my first priority to write today to the people at the centre of making change happen: our workforces.

“I want all children to have the best life chances which means recruiting and keeping great teachers in our classrooms – today is the first step in that mission.”

The Department for Education (DfE) will also resume and expand its teacher recruitment campaign, Every Lesson Shapes a Life, as well as restarting its further education recruitment campaign, Share Your Skills.

The government said it hopes to “reset the relationship” with the education sector and “transform the image of teaching”, in an attempt to recruit new teachers and retain those already in classrooms.

Recruitment targets for initial teacher training courses were missed in 10 subjects in 2022/23, according to the Education Committee, with maths, physics and religious education among the subjects affected.

According to the committee, many current teachers singled out “excessive workloads” rather than pay as the biggest factor pushing them to leave the sector.

In the DfE’s 2022 Working Lives of Teachers survey, 92% of participating teachers cited workload as a reason to quit the profession, while 57% cited pay.

Pupil behaviour has also worsened since the pandemic, according to a recent report by the Education Committee, which can “discourage” people from becoming teachers and make existing teachers think about leaving the profession.

The Every Lesson Shapes a Life campaign directs potential candidates to the government’s teacher recruitment website, where they will be able to access support and advice from a dedicated contact centre and a national programme of events.