London's teachers
Education is one of the most important elements in the future success of London.
London is a great place to learn to teach and develop a teaching career. We've got some of the best schools in the country, but we need to do more to attract and retain brilliant teachers.
The capital's schools do a fantastic job at raising students' aspirations and boosting social mobility. Good leadership and great teaching are the vital ingredients in this success. Our last London Education Report highlights the strong achievements and areas for improvements from early years through to schools and colleges.
The nationwide teacher shortage is hitting London hard. Secondary school places are set to increase further over the next five years, meaning we need more schools, headteachers and teachers.
The Mayor is helping the Teaching Schools Council in London and the wider school system to recruit and retain teachers through the Teach London partnership.
- Read our Teach London brochure which has the main findings from our research and useful resources for schools
- Teach London has all you need to know to become a teacher in London
- Email us if you'd like some Teach London flyers to share with prospective trainee teachers
We are keen to promote teaching as a career within London’s BAME communities, in recognition of their substantial under representation in the workforce. This would help tackle the disparity between the percentage of BAME students and percentage of BAME teachers. The short paper below provides the research context and evidence for this particular focus.
Research findings
We have carried out London-wide research and analysis to find out more about teacher recruitment and retention.
The research commissioned by the Mayor and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found:
- The vibrancy of London and the pace of its education system attracts younger teachers
- London has more new teachers in its workforce each year than the rest of England
- Teachers in London also leave the profession at a higher rate than the national average. There are not enough new teachers to replace those leaving in London each year
- The high cost of housing is the most important factor in teachers leaving London
- Student numbers are rising faster than the majority of England. Demand for secondary places will rise steeply in the first half of the next decade.
See ideas for schools from research by LKMCo for Teach London on how to:
Ideas were developed in three themed roundtables. Small I, Trethewey A, Menzies L, Bowen-Vinder K and Shaw B (2018) Teach London: Improving teacher recruitment and retention in London. LKMCo, forthcoming.
You can also read on this page LKMCo’s research on ‘Boys on Track’ about improving support for Black Caribbean and Free School Meal-Eligible White Boys in London.
Download Teach London brochure GLA 2019
Download Annual Education Report 2017
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