Dr Patrick Roach commented on the publication of the Initial Teacher Training Census 2022/23 by the Department of Education

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“The government’s own figures show once again the extent of the recruitment crisis in teaching which has gone from bad to worse. Years of underinvestment in teachers’ pay, along with the failure to address excessive workload and working hours, are deterring many graduates and career changers from pursuing a career in teaching.

“The year-on year erosion of teachers’ salaries has left teaching at the bottom of the graduate pay league. Under this government we have had 12 wasted years of underinvestment and failure which have let down children and young people.

“The imposition of more real-terms pay cuts this year will see even more teachers leaving the profession and even fewer graduates choosing to become teachers next year.

“This is clear evidence of a teacher recruitment crisis that has been made by a government that has demonstrated contempt for the profession by seeking to pay teachers as little as they can get away with. “Teachers, pupils and the public demand better.”