Policy Hub
On 7 April 2008, the think tank Policy Exchange published a report (The labour market for teachers) which looks at the training and recruitment of primary and secondary school teachers.
The report reveals that applications for secondary teacher training are falling. It predicts that recruitment targets for key subjects will not be met in 2008 including mathematics, science, modern foreign languages, geography and information and communication technology.
The report also highlights evidence which shows that more than 14% of primary school pupils are already taught in classes of over 31 while the average primary class size of 26.2 puts the UK 23rd out of the 30 OECD members. It argues that the Office of National Statistics’ announcement of an increase in their projection of around 500,000 for the primary age group by 2015 will place a significant strain on class sizes. At the present primary pupil teacher ratio, this will require an extra 18,000 primary school teachers by 2015.