The Drop-out Rate for Trainee Teachers has Doubled
The proportion of trainee teachers in the UK who fail to achieve qualified teacher status has doubled since 2019. According to statistics published by the UK Department for Education, 8% of trainee teachers who received qualification training in the 2022-23 academic year did not achieve qualified teacher status. The proportion of unqualified teachers was 7% the previous year and 4% in 2019-20. The data revealed that 76% of teachers who achieved qualification status were employed in state schools 16 months after the end of the academic year.
This situation poses a significant challenge for the new Labour government, which aims to recruit 6,500 additional teachers for state schools. As teacher recruitment and retention become increasingly difficult, the government hired approximately 14,000 fewer postgraduate trainee teachers than needed this year. In 2022-23, there were 8,362 fewer postgraduate trainee teachers compared to the previous year, and the number of postgraduate trainee teachers recruited in September 2024 dropped by 23%, from 30,093 to 23,244. The Department for Education’s statistics showed that, despite a target of 35,540, only 21,946 postgraduate trainee teachers were recruited by the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
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