Applications for teacher training down by a third

BUREAUCRACY in teaching has contributed to “the biggest drop” in applicants to train in the profession, an education union said.

The number of teacher training applications went down by a third from 19,330 by December 2016 to 12,820 in 2017, according to Ucas figures.

This included around 25% fewer trainees in English, maths and science.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary for the National Education Union, said it is “the biggest drop I can remember of applicants in one year”.

“This is a real problem, there are obviously some differences year on year with the application dates – but a third is a huge figure,” he added.

It comes after tens of thousands of teachers left England’s schools before reaching retirement age last year.

The Government has also missed recruitment targets in the profession for the last five years.

Mr Courtney said changes to the curriculum, complicated different routes into teaching and low pay are all contributing to the issue.

The main problem is a high workload caused by overscrutiny and a “lack of trust” in teachers, he added.

“It’s not the hours but the nature of the work – producing evidence for bureaucrats is taking hours of teachers’ time,” he said.

“The workload is not only causing problems with people leaving, but now with people coming into the profession.

“Every teacher feels like they are under scrutiny the whole time. It’s mind numbing, it’s demeaning and that needs to be addressed.

“It’s about the status of teachers and putting trust back into the profession.”