Secondary teacher job vacancies hit nine-year low

Job adverts for secondary school teaching roles have dropped to their lowest level in the last decade, raising fresh concerns about  teacher recruitment in England. 

The Teacher Tapp and SchoolDash annual report on teacher recruitment and retention, funded by Gatsby Foundation, shows that job advertisements for secondary school roles are down 32% compared to last year and 46% lower than in the pre-pandemic 2018/19 academic year. 

This decline is consistent across all subjects and appears to reflect a combination of factors, including falling pupil rolls, reduced teacher turnover linked to a weak wider labour market, and budgetary caution.

Despite low recruitment activity in the primary sector, 21% of primary teachers report that their school is inadequately staffed with suitably qualified teachers.

This may suggest that schools are reducing posts overall in response to budgetary pressures, which leaves those who remain feeling that their school is less well resourced, even if there are fewer unfilled vacancies. 

Teachers’ long-term commitment to the profession remains well below pre-pandemic levels. Around 61% of teachers now expect to still be teaching in three years’ time, compared to approximately 75% before the pandemic. This figure has stabilised since 2022, but the persistent gap reflects ongoing challenges including the burden of managing pupil behaviour and the limited flexibility of teaching relative to other careers.

The pipeline of future headteachers also continues to narrow. Just 37% of deputy and assistant headteachers say they aspire to headship, down from 55% in 2017. Headteacher turnover in the secondary phase has also fallen to its lowest level outside the pandemic, raising concerns about leadership capacity in the years ahead.