We will always need teachers. However, according to a report by the House of Commons, in recent years “the overall number of teachers has not kept pace with increasing pupil numbers”. For the government and for schools attempting to keep their heads above water, therein lies the rub. The same report predicts that, as well as the pressures of pupil numbers, which are projected to rise by 5% between 2018 and 2024, the introduction of the English Baccalaureate is going to increase demand for teachers in certain subjects like languages. It also warns of the Brexit fallout, whereby “the UK’s exit from the EU could potentially make it harder to recruit teachers from the EEA to fill any shortages.”
 
So, what is the government doing to try and incentivise people to train as teachers and, just as importantly, remain in that profession? The Early Career Framework is what they have come up with and it is heralded as the “biggest teaching reform in a generation” by Gov.uk. It aims to provide a higher level of support to new teachers and, as of 28th June 2019, education and training organisations have been invited to help develop the programme. The framework will also be backed by “at least £130 million a year in extra funding when fully rolled out in 2021.”
 
Education Secretary Damien Hinds has confirmed that the North East will be one of the areas due to reap the benefits of the scheme’s early roll-out as soon as September 2020. His full statement on the 28th of June ran as follows: “The early stages of a teacher’s career are an incredibly exciting time – but they can also be very challenging, which is why it’s so important to make sure they are properly supported. Earlier this year I set out my plans to transform the support available to newly-qualified teachers, through the centrepiece of our flagship Teacher Recruitment & Retention Strategy. Today marks an important milestone on this journey, by inviting tenders to create training and support for those starting out their careers in teaching.”
 
The Early Career Framework has been described as a “two-year package of structured training and support” intended to establish the foundations of a long and productive career in teaching. Part of this will include a reduced timetable to allow new teachers to fully tackle their training and make the very most of it. The programme itself has been generally well-received by the education community, however some have suggested that Hinds could be doing more. Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union has praised the move to support teachers and aid retention, but added that “the teaching profession cannot wait for the next raft of statistics, and Damian Hinds would do well to consider the more immediate changes he can make right now to alleviate the needless burdens placed on all teachers.”
 
More teachers are undoubtedly what is needed, as well as teachers who really want to teach, so there is a great deal of hope riding on this new initiative. The rest of the country will have to watch and wait to see exactly how these ideas translate to reality as they are implemented in the North - hopefully, it will be exactly what the education system has been waiting for.