by David Nicholson

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT denied teaching union claims today that there was a recruitment and retention crisis in schools in Wales.

The response from a spokeswoman pointed to official figures that she claimed showed the situation in schools is “stable.”

Following last weekend’s Glasgow conference, NASUWT Cymru accused the Welsh government of failing pupils in Wales in not dealing with a growing recruitment and retention crisis.w

The union revealed that nearly three quarters of teachers in Wales have seriously considered leaving the teaching profession over the last 12 months.

The research by the teachers’ union from its Big Question survey highlighted what it said was a growing crisis gripping schools in Wales.

National official for Wales Neil Butler said: “Pupils are being failed by the Welsh government’s failure to recruit and retain the talented teachers our education system needs.

“Uncompetitive pay, unsustainable workloads and an under-resourced education system are driving up vacancies.

“Too many teachers are forced to leave the profession prematurely, increasingly within the first few years of qualifying,” Mr Butler said.

Initial findings from over 600 teachers in Wales showed the impact of pay erosion and poor conditions on teacher recruitment and retention.

Over two thirds of teachers in Wales believe that individuals are being put off a career in teaching because of levels of pay, while 83 per cent of teachers said that teaching is not competitive compared with the salaries and rewards offered by other occupations.

When asked if they would recommend teaching as a career to friends or family, 78 per cent of respondents said no.

But the Welsh government spokeswoman said: “Official figures show that teacher recruitment and retention remain stable.

“While we recognise that there is more to do, there is a significantly lower leaving rate among secondary teachers in Wales when compared with England. 

“We accept there are difficulties in recruiting in certain secondary subjects in certain geographical areas. That is why we have introduced generous financial incentives to attract new teachers in priority subjects.”

At the union’s Glasgow conference, representatives from Wales spoke about underfunding, uncompetitive pay, growing workloads and rising pupil behaviour issues.

NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “Teachers and their pupils are depending on the Welsh government to rise to the challenge at this critical juncture for education.”