The Teacher Tapp and SchoolDash annual report on teacher recruitment and retention, funded by Gatsby Foundation, provides insights into the current state of the teaching profession in England. By monitoring job advertisements and conducting surveys with over 10,000 teachers, the report presents key trends and challenges. Here are the key findings at the close of the teacher recruitment season in summer 2025.
Key Finding 1: Secondary teacher recruitment activity is significantly lower than in recent years. Job advertisements for secondary school roles are down 36% compared to last year, and 27% lower than in the pre-pandemic 2018/19 academic year. While recruitment levels were typical in autumn, activity has slowed markedly since January, suggesting quiet spring and summer terms for hiring.
Key Finding 2: Both supply- and demand-side factors are contributing to the current slowdown in secondary teacher recruitment. Fewer teachers are changing jobs following a period of high post-pandemic turnover, while at the same time, schools are anticipating future declines in pupil numbers and are responding with more cautious staffing plans. Schools also face serious budgetary pressures. As a result, 45% of secondary headteachers expect to reduce their teacher headcount in September, suggesting a contraction in the workforce may begin even before student enrolment numbers fall.
Key Finding 3: Falling pupil numbers are reducing demand for primary teachers, particularly in certain regions. Primary schools (especially in London and the North East) are responding to demographic decline and budgetary pressures by reducing staff numbers, merging classes, or increasing senior leaders’ teaching responsibilities. Only 5% of primary headteachers expect to increase teacher numbers next year, while 36% expect a reduction, contributing to a subdued recruitment picture across the phase.
Key Finding 4: Teachers’ long-term commitment to the profession remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels. The proportion of teachers who expect to still be in the profession in three years has fallen from around 75% before the pandemic to approximately 60% today. Although this figure appears to have stabilised, it reflects a sustained shift that will continue to challenge schools through higher turnover and greater staffing instability. Underlying concerns include limited flexibility, alternative career options, pay, accountability, and pupil behaviour.
Key Finding 5: Detailed socio-economic context beyond free school meal eligibility can matter. While traditional measures of disadvantage, such as free school meals and Pupil Premium, explain much of the variation in school recruitment activity and survey responses, other socio-economic factors appear to have effects too, for example in the relative demand for teachers across different subjects and for technicians of all types, as well as for survey responses about commitment to teaching, job satisfaction and pupil behaviour.
