Teacher shortage limiting school subjects on offer

Some secondary schools are having to cut back on their curriculum because of problems recruiting staff, Wales' chief inspector of education has said.

Owen Evans said Estyn school inspectors were also starting to see more difficulties retaining staff.

Giving evidence to a Senedd committee, Mr Evans said recruitment challenges "weaken the standard of teaching but also the choice available to children".

The Welsh government said it would be providing an extra £20m for schools to support education standards in 2024-25.

Inspectors also said improvements were needed to the quality of maths teaching because "standards in mathematics are too low".

Estyn chiefs were answering questions from the Children, Young People and Education Committee about its annual report in which it said problems recruiting qualified staff were having an impact on the quality of education and posed a "risk" to the system.

Mr Evans said it was also limiting the subject choices available to children.

"We see secondary schools now that have to limit the curriculum because they can't recruit teachers in those subjects," he said.

Retention of school staff is also "going down", he said, despite the Education Workforce Council saying the situation was stable.

"I don't expect that stable situation to continue," he added.

The chief inspector said schools were reporting key staff were leaving the profession.

Mr Evans added secondary headteachers told inspectors they would "get one applicant if they're lucky" when they advertise for maths teachers "and sometimes that person isn't employable".

Claire Morgan, strategic director of Estyn, said they were "really concerned" about numeracy, adding there should be a "determination to improve standards in mathematics".

"If we're to get numeracy right we have to get the quality of maths teaching right first, because standards in mathematics are too low," she told members of the committee.

On pupils' behaviour, Mr Evans said Estyn would be publishing a report on the topic soon but they had found it was less of a problem "where they have quite strong policies that have been developed with pupils and parents".

He said "very clear expectations" and "consistency of application so that everyone know where the boundaries are" was also important.

It came as the Welsh government said it would be providing an extra £20m for schools to support education standards in 2024-25.

Education Secretary Lynne Neagle said: "Through continued dialogue with education partners, I understand the scale of the difficulties being faced every day and I am thankful for the hard work of the education workforce across Wales.

"In recognition of the pressures our schools are facing, I want to provide as much funding as possible to raise school standards and support our learners to thrive."