‘Almost beyond belief’: axing of UK teacher recruitment scheme will worsen crisis, say critics

Ministers have been accused of making a crisis in the recruitment of teachers even worse after axing funding to a much-praised programme helping older workers start a new career in the classroom.

An outcry is already beginning over the decision to axe the career change programme, with organisers complaining that there “will be barely anyone left to teach our children” unless Rishi Sunak lives up to his party conference pledge to prioritise education.

Now Teach, the charity co-founded by journalist-turned-teacher Lucy Kellaway that runs the scheme, said the £1.7m programme was being scrapped despite overdelivering on its recruitment targets. It said the Department for Education (DfE) would not renew its contract. This means it will recruit no new teachers from September despite stating that applications were still “flying in”.

It comes soon after figures suggesting that 10 out of 17 secondary subjects are likely to under-recruit in the current financial year, with the recruitment of secondary school teachers projected to reach around 61% of the official target. Primary recruitment, which usually meets its target, is forecast to reach only 83% of its new target.

The end of the scheme appears to be part of a wider government drive to find savings wherever it can as the DfE tries to deal with a shortfall estimated to be as much as £1.5bn because of the funds needed to meet teacher pay rises. Existing budgets have had to be used to meet much of the cost.

Funding has already been scaled back for free national professional qualifications for all schools, as well as a programme for teacher training top-up courses. A governor recruitment scheme will also be axed in September. More cuts are expected. Kellaway, who quit as a journalist to become an economics teacher, said: “What the government is saying to people is: ‘Now don’t teach, as there won’t be any specialised support for you.’”

Recruits to the scheme have an average age of 47 and most go into Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths). Kellaway said many had “unretired” to enter the profession or had used the scheme to come out of long-term economic inactivity – something Sunak has made a priority of. She said the recruits were more likely to stay in the classroom than other teachers in their age group.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said this demonstrated that the government had “lost all ambition and all innovation if we’re really beginning to cut things like this”. He added: “The fundamentals just aren’t there. We’re still losing people within three years of coming into the profession. We’re still losing longer-serving teachers now in their 40s and 50s because they can’t pay the bills.”

Some Now Teach support services will continue until 2026, but its recruitment will stop in September with no further funding. Lord Blunkett, the former education secretary, said the scheme should be saved. “Experienced people taking on teaching is an imaginative, effective way to get the high-quality specialist teachers our classrooms so badly need,” he said.

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Sam Freedman, director of ­strategy at Teach First, who advised Michael Gove as education secretary, said: “We are in the middle of a major teacher recruitment crisis, so it is almost beyond belief that the government would choose this moment to scrap a proven and successful route into teaching that attracts people who would not otherwise enter the profession and costs less than what the DfE spends refurbishing its own offices. It’s the definition of ‘penny wise, pound foolish’, and I hope ministers see sense and overturn this decision.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “The Career Changers programme has, and continues to, support career changers to enter teaching. We’d like to acknowledge the contribution being made by Now Teach in delivering it. Career changers make a valuable contribution to the teaching profession and bring a wealth of experience and expertise. We remain committed to continuing to recruit and support them into initial teacher training, through services such as Get Into Teaching, which offers one-to-one support and advice.”