Ofsted said new research has the potential to help inspectors understand more about initial teacher training drop-out rates – a sign of how the inspectorate is looking to better consider local context.
A study by University College London professor John Jerrim found students who live at home with their parents as undergraduates are more likely to become teachers.
Meanwhile, children eligible for free school meals were roughly half as likely to enter teaching than their peers, and Russell Group university graduates 30 per cent less likely.
Jerrim analysed the school-age characteristics of children born between September 1994 and August 1995 who went on to become teachers.
Lee Owston, Ofsted’s national director of education, said further research could inform the inspection framework for ITT providers.
“If the work is extended to other cohorts, it could be used to establish differences in teacher retention rates across different providers, and some of the background reasons why these may occur.”
But Emma Hollis, the chief executive of the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, said retention was hardly mentioned in the current ITT framework. It was not something she saw providers pulled up on.
James Noble Rogers, the executive director of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, said metrics on retention should not feature in inspection reports for individual providers. “There are factors outside the control of providers that impact on retention.”
