Collaborative teacher recruitment: cutting through complexity and competition

In common with many other parts of the world, England is facing increasing challenge in attracting new teachers to the profession. According to the government’s own data (DfE, 2014, 2019), targets have been missed each year for the past seven. There are myriad factors influencing this situation, but the growing shortfall in England and its persistence coincide with a period of unprecedented marketisation of initial teacher training (ITT). Trainee teachers report that it is complex and confusing navigating their way through to application and enrolment on training programmes, that they are subject to pressure to accept places offered (and reject others) and that, once they have begun to train, they frequently encounter low morale and negative views of the profession expressed by their teaching colleagues in schools. These factors of complexity, competition and culture act as barriers to, not enablers of, recruitment and retention. We argue that the professional behaviours that crea