Commenting on the publication of the Initial Teacher Training Census 2021/22 by the Department for Education, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“As the NASUWT predicted, the Government’s failure to invest in teachers’ pay and working conditions and to tackle the drivers of excessive workload has meant that the modest uptick in ITT recruitment witnessed during 2020 has not been sustained or improved on.

“The failure to tackle excessive workload and the Government’s imposed pay freeze have only exacerbated the year-on-year real-terms erosion of teachers’ salaries and made teaching a less attractive career option.

“The Government needs urgently to make good on its already delayed pre-election pledge to raise teachers’ starting salaries and invest in raising the pay of teachers across the board.

“In his overdue remit to the pay review body, the Education Secretary must demonstrate that he is prepared to invest in teachers by taking action on pay in order to end the recruitment and retention crisis which continues to inflict damage on children’s education.”