Teacher supply and shortages: the implications of teacher supply challenges for schools and pupils

The report presents the results of a survey of senior school leaders in England with responsibility for staffing in autumn 2020 and autumn 2021 on their experience of teacher recruitment, retention, and what actions, if any, they took to manage shortages. Two key challenges emerged from the analysis: budget pressures and the quantity and quality of available applicants for teacher vacancies. One of the findings is that school leaders take actions to mitigate teacher shortages (such as deploying non-specialist teachers) but some actions are likely to have detrimental implications for pupil's education and learning.