Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, commented on the DfE press release announcing an increase in teacher training bursaries from next year

Commenting on the DfE press release, Barton said:

“While we welcome any action to address the fact that schools and colleges are experiencing a severe shortage of teachers, this increase in bursaries for certain secondary subjects only scratches the surface of the crisis.

“The underlying issue is that salary levels are not competitive enough because of government austerity policies which have eroded the real value of school teachers’ pay by a fifth over the past decade. This year’s pay award is significantly below inflation and there is no additional government funding to schools for them to be able to pay for the cost of this award.

“This is then compounded by workload pressures – caused by the chronic underfunding of schools and colleges by the government – which contribute to nearly a third of teachers leaving the profession within five years of qualifying.

“The government must work with the education sector on a strategic plan which deals with these systemic issues. At present, the majority of schools and colleges in England are struggling to put teachers in front of classes.”