Tory govt must tackle teacher recruitment crisis

Responding to the Education Policy Institute's report on teacher shortages, Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Layla Moran MP said:

"Children living in our most disadvantaged areas are losing out from the Conservatives' failure to tackle the teacher recruitment crisis. In schools where more children are on free school meals, fewer teaching posts are filled, more experienced teachers are moving on and staff take more days off because of stress and workload.

"It's time that the Government started valuing our teachers. The increase in starting salaries is welcome, but our experienced teachers also need a proper pay boost to keep them in the profession - and schools can't be expected to pick up the tab.

"Liberal Democrats would guarantee teachers high-quality professional development and put an end to the constant political meddling in our curriculum, testing and inspections system. It has placed too high a burden on teachers' workload and mental health.

"Children will lose out if the Conservatives don't start treating teachers like the highly-valued professionals that they are."

The Education Policy Institute's report, 'Teacher shortages in England: analysis and pay options', can be found here: https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Teacher-shortages-and-pay_2020_EPI.pdf