Suffolk headteacher wants more done to tackle recruitment and retention
An education charity is warning the "critical state" of staffing levels is posing a "substantial risk" to the quality of education
A headteacher in Suffolk is telling us they need more resources to make sure every child has an 'excellent education'.
It follows a report from an education charity which warns the "critical state" of staffing levels is posing a "substantial risk" to the quality of education children are getting.
Rebecca Leek is interim headteacher at Beelings Primary School, and executive director of the Suffolk Primary Head Teachers Association: "If we want every child to have an excellent education, we need to resources to deliver it."
She told us limited budgets are causing high levels of tension and strain for existing staff - thus leading to a high turnover of staff: "The funding model needs to be completely recalibrated.
"At the moment, schools can just survive and staff their schools if they're full, but the way that's been budgeted is extremely tight."
Alongside retention issues in schools, Rebecca says they need more people to enter the profession: "There's a supply issue in terms of enough people wanting to train and stay on as teachers.
"Schools can only just afford a teacher and maybe a teaching assistant...
"We have very finely balanced classrooms... all it takes is a child who is finding life difficult or needs specialist attentions, and that tight balance of only just enough adults falls apart like a house of cards."
The report in more detail
Research from The National Foundation for Educational Research found that ambitious and "radical" actions are urgently needed to get more people into teaching.
NFER said this should include a "pay premium" to compensate for the lack of remote and hybrid working opportunities in their jobs, compared with other graduates.
It comes after figures in December showed just 50% of the Government's initial teacher training target (ITT) for secondary school subjects was reached in 2023/24, down from 57% in 2022/23.
What's the Government said?
The Government say they're investing £1.5 million into easing teacher's workload, preventing bullying in the staff-room and increasing mental health support.