News

Schools North East today welcomed the Department for Education’s new strategy for teacher recruitment and retention, part of which will be rolled out in the North East first.

The plan sets out a wide range of measures – worked up in partnership with three key leaders from the North East – that will better support and incentivise teachers to sign up to and stay in the profession.

It includes a national Early Career Framework, which will be piloted in the North East through £12m of Government investment before being rolled out nationally.

The framework includes:

• Entitlement to a fully-funded, 2-year package of structured support for all
  early career teachers linked to available research evidence
• Funded time off timetable in the second
• Additional support for mentors

It is part of the wider recruitment and retention strategy, which also includes:

• Creating the right climate for leaders to establish supportive school cultures, including by making Ofsted the only trigger for    support
• Building an attractive career offer
• Simplifying the process for becoming a teacher

Mike Parker, Director of Schools North East, said: “High quality teachers are at the core of every successful school. Having a clear, coherent and comprehensive national strategy that recruits the brightest and best, alongside a strong focus on improving retention rates, is vital for the future of our schools.

“It is no secret that workload and high stakes accountability are costing the profession dearly so these new measures are to be warmly welcomed. Piloting the early careers framework in the North East is an added incentive for new teachers to choose our region as the place to grow their career.”