The government has delayed publishing its full plan for how it will achieve its pledge to recruit 6,500 more teachers, 91 can reveal.
In September the government told MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that it would publish its full delivery plan for the manifesto promise in December.
However, the Department for Education has now confirmed to 91 that it “plans to publish the 6.5K delivery plan alongside the Schools White Paper, in the new year”.
The delay has been criticised as “incredible” by unions, which warn that more teachers are “desperately needed”.
Pledge to hire more teachers
The 6,500 target was a key pledge before the general election last year, but there have been questions about how it will be measured.
The DfE was criticised in a report by MPs in July for lacking a “coherent plan, suitable targets and sufficient evidence” in its efforts to improve teacher recruitment and retention.
The PAC report recommended that the department sets out the baseline and milestones for recruitment, as well as how the extra teachers will be split across schools and colleges.
In its , the DfE accepted the committee’s recommendation, and promised more detail on its manifesto workforce pledge.
The delivery plan will include “the definition of the pledge, how the department will track progress over the duration of this parliament, progress to date, and the levers it will use to deliver the pledge (including how it will focus on both recruitment and retention)”.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the lack of a workforce plan was “incredible”.
“The very least the government can do is explain how it is going to achieve that target, and it is pretty incredible that we’re now 18 months down the line and still don’t have sight of a delivery plan,” he said.
Recruitment progress ‘not good’
His concerns were echoed by Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, who said that more teachers are “desperately needed”.
“Progress so far has not been good. There were 400 fewer teachers in 2024-25 than in 2023-24, and the pupil-to-teacher ratio remained unchanged,” he added.
The government has also faced political criticism over its progress on the teacher workforce, with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch saying that there were 400 fewer full-time equivalent teachers than in 2023 - a total of 468,258.
91 revealed in June that primary school teachers would not be included as part of the 6,500 target.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, agreed with his fellow unions. “It’s certainly important that the government outlines its plan for meeting its pledge as soon as possible,” he said.
“This must move on from the failed 2019 strategy, which tinkered at the edges without making any discernible difference, and must show real ambition in tackling the unacceptable wastage rates in school leadership and among teachers.”
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