The Yorkshire Post says: Time to learn these key lessons over recruitment and retention of teachers

Yet, while this political ploy pre-dates this Government’s austerity agenda, Ministers of all hues continue to ignore another word which is equally important to this debate – retention. The plain fact of the matter is that insufficient staff are being recruited to replace those who are quitting their profession through disillusionment – and this is placing those that do remain under increased pressure as they strive to do more with less.

And this reality is made even more stark by a survey of National Education Union members which reveals that two fifths of teachers predict they will not be working in this sector by 2024. However, while this appears to be a distant date, it is only five years away and requires concerted action now. Not only does this mean the Government intensifying efforts to recruit a new generation of teachers – but also creating an environment which convinces them that this is also a rewarding career so their services can be retained for the long-term.

This will only happen if Ministers begin to address the two reasons most cited by teachers leaving the profession – workload and an overbearing accountability regime. If not, the inevitable consequence is increased class sizes and more pupils being denied the world-class education to which they should be entitled.