Brief
Use data, opinion polling and lobbying to encourage Government to review a key policy and manifesto pledge.
BRAND
Tes Global
IMPACT
- Meetings with 30+ MPs and SpAds
- Events at party conferences with Secretary of State
- Government dropped focus on core pledge
SUMMARY
A persistent secondary teacher shortage caused a rise in complaints that teacher recruitment is “broken”. A Government response was the launch of a Teaching Vacancy Service.
On paper a popular idea, it actually threatened the whole teacher recruitment industry. Our analysis showed rather than a market failure in recruitment, schools were suffering a teacher shortage. The Government risked forcing schools into the hands of expensive head-hunting and supply firms.
We set out to prove this to ministers, advisers and government service providers, through publishing reports, polls and creating events to focus on solutions to the teacher shortage, including hosting the Secreatary of State at a fringe event at the party conference. Our arguments landed and the Government shifted focus to recruiting graduates into teaching.
Highlight
We ran a survey of 2,500 teachers and school leaders, in the UK and working around the world. We established one of the biggest threats to the quality of education is the attractiveness of working abroad. Tes Magazine ran the story on the front cover.
Insight
Driven by an insight — that to a school leader a teacher shortage is indistinguishable from a recruitment market failure — we aggressively targeted political and educational influencers, to shift the focus onto the systemic teacher shortage.
Related projects
