Staffing problems making education recovery harder

This year’s Ofsted Annual Report describes the extent to which education and children’s social care have recovered in the wake of the pandemic. It finds that, while there is much to be commended, ensuring this generation of children and young people get the education, training, care and opportunities they deserve remains a work in progress.

The report looks back at the last academic year, from September 2021 to August this year. It highlights a number of issues in education and care that are either created or exacerbated by workforce and resourcing challenges, and which are compounding problems left over from the pandemic. Children are bearing the brunt of these issues, as staff shortages create problems that can affect their quality of education and care.

If the education and social care sectors are to be resilient in the face of future challenges, Ofsted says that problems recruiting and retaining staff must be urgently addressed.

Recruitment continues to be a frustration for schools, colleges and independent learning providers. Schools report shortages of teaching assistants, and colleges are finding it difficult to recruit tutors in many areas. Fewer college staff can result in larger class sizes of mixed abilities, which can make it difficult to pitch the education or training at the right level.

Schools have also continued to experience COVID-related staff absences. High demand makes it difficult to recruit supply teachers, so many schools have used their own staff to cover absences, which increases workloads. Managing with fewer staff slows the pace of intervention when children need extra help. And it has delayed the return of sports, drama, music and other enrichment activities that are normally part of the school experience.

Many schools have found it difficult to access external support services for pupils with mental health issues. Lengthy waiting lists have placed an extra burden on schools.

In some special (and mainstream) schools, recruiting staff with SEND expertise has been difficult, and staff turnover has been higher than pre-pandemic. As a result, children’s individual needs are not always met.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said: "The pandemic continued to cast a shadow over education and children’s social care for much of the past year. And the energy crisis and economic pressures have brought more turbulence in recent months. So I would like to record my thanks to everyone working in education and care for their efforts in what was clearly another very difficult year.

"Across all age groups in education, careful thought has been given to making up lost learning. However, achievement gaps are still wider than before the pandemic, meaning the recovery is far from complete. And it’s clear that in education – and in children’s social care – staffing issues are compounding problems standing in the way of a full recovery.

"We owe the current generation of young people as much security and certainty as we can provide for what remains of their childhood. And we must offer them the education, training and opportunities they need to secure their future. To do that, it’s vital that education and social care providers are able to recruit, train and retain talented and capable people."