The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has provided both oral and written evidence to the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Committee inquiry into teacher recruitment and retention in Wales.
As the independent, professional regulator for the education workforce, the EWC maintains a register of all education practitioners registered to work in Wales across schools, further education, adult/work-based learning, and youth work. This places it in a unique position to share valuable intelligence with the committee, including data on the composition of Wales’s teaching workforce, over the past 25 years.
The EWC also has a statutory responsibility to accredit programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Wales. This includes a monitoring role and the administering of qualified teacher status (QTS) to those joining the teaching profession.
Presenting the regulators oral evidence to the committee hearing on the 5 June 2025, outgoing EWC Chief Executive, Hayden Llewellyn, and EWC Chairperson, Eithne Hughes highlighted that:
- teacher retention across Wales is relatively stable with around 75% of teachers who were registered in 2020 still remaining in the profession (registered as school teachers) five years on
- Wales consistently meets or exceeds its annual target for primary ITE recruitment, however, secondary teacher recruitment is challenging
- there is a shortfall in secondary teacher numbers with only around one-third of the target number of secondary teachers trained in 2024 – this is of particular concern in priority subjects such as maths, sciences, Welsh, and modern foreign languages
- a significant proportion of teachers are working outside their subject specialism, especially in secondary science and maths, a trend that may worsen due to recruitment pressures
- despite national targets, only around 20% of new teachers were trained through the medium of Welsh in 2024, with particularly low figures in science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) subjects
- just over 2% of teachers identify as from an ethnic minority background, despite over 15% of pupils doing so
- some headteacher posts are being re-advertised multiple times, especially in Welsh-medium and rural schools
- systemic pressures are deterring both potential recruits and existing teachers from staying in the profession
- learning support workers play a vital role in the classroom, but face high turnover and limited progression opportunities
Suggesting improvements for the future, the pair stressed that efforts to improve teacher recruitment and retention in Wales must address the deeper issues affecting the wellbeing of the workforce. They called for a joined-up approach, including expanding the committee’s inquiry to recognise the vital role of school learning support workers. This, they said, was essential to ensure both the quality and quantity of school teachers needed for a resilient and effective teaching workforce.
Following the hearing, Eithne said “We welcome the committee’s focus on teacher recruitment and retention and are pleased to support this important work in any way we can.
“We will continue to contribute data, analysis, and professional expertise on these matters to inform the development of policy, provide advice to Welsh Government and other stakeholders, and support the education workforce.”
In addition to the Register of Education Practitioners, the EWC drew on feedback from its engagement with registrants, employers, agencies and wider stakeholders. This included data gathered from a number of national surveys and policy events.
A recording of the CYPE committee’s hearing in which the EWC provided oral evidence is available on the Senedd’s website. A copy of the EWC’s written evidence can be found on its website.