Dorset educators back government plans to hire more teachers
Dorset schools are experiencing a ‘recruitment and retention crisis’
Last updated 10th Jul 2024
A teacher training provider in Bournemouth believes part-time courses could resolve the recruitment crisis in teaching.
Schools across the county are facing staff shortages and many pupils are not being taught by subject specialists.
Recent studies found that there has been a 20% drop in people training to be teachers, highlighting the difficulties with recruitment.
Lou Evans, Director of Castleman Learning Network, told us: “Not everybody who would be a great teacher is in a position to train full time for a year.
“We need to have that flexibility to allow people to train in school three days a week and give trainees the rest of the week to manage the other side of life, whether that's family or other employment.
“Lots of schools also know they have staff members that would make great teachers so apprenticeships could be another route.”
The Learning Network announced they will be expanding their training programmes by launching a part-time route in January 2025.
Meanwhile, Labour vowed to address the teaching recruitment crisis on their first day in office by recruiting 6,500 more teachers and making the sector more “attractive”.
Ms Evans added: “Increasing the number of people that join the profession would be a real positive because there's no doubt that schools are struggling to appoint teachers.”
The newly appointed Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, outlined her aims to “rebuild” the government’s relationship with the sector.
She noted retaining staff already in classrooms as a key aspect, especially as teacher vacancies across Dorset have more than doubled in the last three years.
Ms Evans said: “Supporting teachers that have just entered the industry at their first school would be one way of making people feel supported because it is a tricky job but once you feel comfortable in a school it can be a fantastic job.”
Labour has also promised a teacher training entitlement for all teachers and to create a new national voice for school support staff.