TEACHING union leaders welcomed moves to boost recruitment to the profession as a key Commons committee pushed for action.

The public accounts committee (PAC) warned, however, that the government lacked a “coherent plan” to meet its target of 6,500 more teachers in schools by the end of the parliament.

National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “It is heartening to see the public accounts committee really get to grips with the serious challenge around teacher numbers and subject specialists.

“English schools and colleges are in the midst of the worst teacher recruitment and retention crisis in a generation created by long hours, poor pay and Ofsted.

“The PAC is absolutely right to focus on these issues and to urge that the Department for Education develop a coherent plan with measurable targets backed up by evidence of what works.”

Mr Kebede also welcomed “the PAC’s focus on schools with high levels of pupil poverty and the negative impact of Ofsted in these areas.

“The DfE [Department for Education] must address the issue that these teachers are working under even greater stress than their peers.”

He also backed the “focus on the disparity in pay between schools and colleges” and warned that hiring and retaining enough teachers “will only be possible with a correction in teacher pay and the Chancellor really must engage with this reality.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We share the concerns about the lack of clarity over the government’s pledge to deliver 6,500 new teachers.

“This does not seem anything like enough to address future need and we would urge ministers to address actual teacher shortages rather than fixate on a figure which is largely meaningless.”

The PAC also warned that ministers did not have suitable targets and sufficient evidence of what works to improve teacher recruitment and retention.

Workload was identified by the PAC as the top reason for teachers leaving their jobs, and pupil behaviour is “an escalating challenge” which school staff face.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said schools would receive an additional £615 million of funding this financial year to help with the costs, but schools would have to find around 1 per cent of the pay awards themselves, adding to pressure on schools budgets.