Domesday Live

Why are schools short of teachers?

Fewer people have been training to teach and more teachers have left than schools can replace, especially in subjects such as maths, physics and computing. Pay fell behind many other graduate jobs for much of the 2010s, and teachers report heavy workloads, which together make the job harder to fill and keep.

Why it happens

• Pay compared with other jobs. Teachers' pay fell in real terms for much of the 2010s, and graduates in subjects such as maths and science can often earn more elsewhere.
• Workload and pressure. Many teachers say that planning, marking, paperwork, inspections and behaviour issues make the job too demanding, and that this is why they leave.
• Shortages are worse in some subjects. Recruitment targets for secondary teachers have been missed in most recent years, with the biggest gaps in subjects where graduates have the most alternatives.
• Cost of living. Housing and living costs, especially in London and the South East, make a teacher's pay stretch less far, so some leave or move to better-paid work.