Schools in London could face losing up to 6500 teachers this year, according to a specialist education recruitment consultancy.

As schools begin their search to fill vacancies for September, TLTP Education (The London Teaching Pool) says that if Department of Education statistics - which show around one in 12 full-time teachers leaving the profession each year- are replicated evenly nationwide, then schools across the capital, which according to DfE figures employ approximately 78,600 teachers*, could be facing an uphill struggle. 

Boroughs like Barnet, Enfield, Newham and Hackney could be facing losing 306, 300, 297 and 295 teachers respectively. More than 4,000 teachers a month left the profession last year - a 10-year high - - around one in 12 full-time teachers, according the Department for Education’s statistics.

Even allowing for newly qualified teachers entering the job market, the figure could still be alarming. DfE figures show that in the period up to November 2013, there were 53,329 entrants to teaching, compared to 50,906 the year before. However, although more than 35,000 individuals embarked on an initial teacher training nationwide (source: NCTL Newly Qualified Teachers: Annual Survey 2014 Research report October 2014) figures announced recently by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that only 62 per cent were still in teaching a year after gaining their Qualified Teacher Status. The figures, based on an analysis of Department for Education data, also showed that the number who complete their training but never enter the classroom has tripled in six years - from 3,600 in 2006 to 10,800 in 2011.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers also reported that almost 80% of newly qualified teachers say they have considered leaving teaching because their workload is too high. Nearly a third (30%) said they were put off by “teacher bashing” and a lack of respect for the profession. 

“There is nothing that can realistically be done to change perceptions of the teaching profession between now and September,” explains Darryl Mydat, Managing Director of TLTP Education. “However, we do need to address what is looking like a potentially alarming situation. It may be that schools need to give more consideration to the growing number of teachers from across the EU looking for posts in the UK, provided their language skills are acceptable, because, as EU citizens, they automatically have QTS status. We have added nearly 500 candidates to our database in the last couple of months, so we know there are teachers out there looking for jobs and we are working hard to match them to vacancies we are aware of." 

TLTP can also help schools by removing the need for them to commit time reviewing CVs or doing background checks on candidates, because that is all done for them. TLTP is one of the few education recruiters to hold the REC Gold Award, the benchmark for safeguarding. 

Founded in 2006, TLTP Group is a privately owned recruitment consultancy specialising in the supply of professionals to both the public and private sectors worldwide. At the heart of TLTP’s role as a vendor manager is the guarantee tov provide people who are unquestionably fit for purpose. At the same time it ensures that its workforce is placed on assignments to which they are suited as individuals, where they are happy and content – assignments which suit their personal agendas and circumstances, where their contribution is appreciated, where they can provide the vital services for which they were trained and where they can further develop their skill-sets.