Shropshire school bucking trend as rivals struggle to recruit new teachers

The National Association of Head Teachers has said the figures are proof of an ongoing "recruitment crisis".

According to the NAHT's annual recruitment survey, 79 per cent of school leaders who advertised vacancies had a problem recruiting. The main reason – cited in just over half the cases – was an overall shortage of applicants.

However in Shropshire, one school has found a way of ensuring it will never lack recruits by offering training with a School Direct programme, working with Edge Hill University.

Ruth Lloyd, deputy headteacher at The Marches School in Oswestry, with responsibility for training, said: "In the educational year 2014-15, The Marches received over 150 applications from potential teachers of the future. This ensures that The Marches has a steady stream of outstanding talent in the classroom.

"The School Direct route into teacher training is fast becoming the preferred option for students because they are learning on the job from existing teachers who are at the forefront of education.

"With a cohort of 20 trainees, across all subjects, The Marches can fill vacancies without the growing cost of recruitment. This term, all three of The Marches School Direct Maths trainees have already been offered roles across the Academy Trust, to commence in September 2016 upon completion of their training."

Marches Training has also recently been granted permission to work with Welsh primary and secondary schools to offer trainee teacher placements. This means that the Marches School and its partner schools will have access to a pool of teachers in Shropshire, Wrexham, Powys and beyond.

The NAHT survey showed a doubling of the number of respondents who identified teachers leaving the profession in their area as a problem, from 15 per cent last year to 30 per cent this year.

To deal with the problems filling positions, schools have turned to recruitment agencies, adding to schools' recruitment costs which average £3,000 per vacancy but can run up to £10,000.

Mr Hobby said the Government should reconsider a recent decision to reduce the investment in primary sector initial teacher training, and called for a review of assumptions about the numbers of new primary teachers needed.

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said: "The Education Committee asks whether there is a crisis in the recruitment of teachers and school leaders; our evidence clearly shows that there is.

"Teachers need to believe they can and do make a difference. It is possible to be both proud of past achievements and ambitious for more: governments need to develop a better way of engaging with the profession for improvement."