Teacher shortage in England – new evidence for understanding and addressing current challenges

REBECCA MORRIS, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK BENG HUAT SEE AND STEPHEN GORARD, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, DURHAM UNIVERSITY, UK There is widespread concern about the shortage of schoolteachers in England. In some regions and some subject areas or phases, finding and retaining appropriately qualified teaching staff is a major challenge for school leaders (Ovenden-Hope and Passy, 2020). Ensuring that we have enough teachers within the system continues to be a pressing issue for schools, policymakers and, perhaps, the life opportunities of young people (DfE, 2019b; Sorenson and Ladd, 2020). While recent analyses have highlighted promising increases in the number of applications and offers for initial teacher training as a result of the COVID-19 crisis (Worth and McLean, 2020), it is impossible to know the longer-term effect of these new entrants to the profession and their impact on teacher shortages across the country. A suite of government initiatives design