Exploring the special schools’ workforce: What’s the current picture?
by Educate Magazine February 25, 2025 · All News / Education News
The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has published the first in a two-part blog series, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, that looks at special schools in England.
The blog looks at the workforce in state-funded special schools, teacher vacancy rates and data about teachers with qualified teacher status (QTS).
The research finds that, on average, state-funded special schools in England:
- Face distinct workforce challenges because of the higher staff-to-pupil ratio needed. Special schools have around four times more staff on a per-pupil basis than primary or secondary schools.
- Are particularly affected by teaching assistant shortages. NFER surveys suggest teaching assistant posts in special schools are less likely to be filled within two months than in other schools. However, DfE does not systematically collect data about teaching assistant shortages, meaning there’s a lack of evidence base to inform action.
- Are vulnerable to funding pressures when the government provides additional funding for pay rises for teachers but not for support staff.
- Face greater teacher shortages than the average school, but the worst shortages are concentrated in Alternative Provision (AP) settings.
- Employ teachers without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) more often than mainstream schools. This suggests special schools are more willing – or need – to use a wider pool of candidates when recruiting teachers.
Commenting on the research, Michael Scott, senior economist at NFER and the blog’s author, said: “Special schools are a vital part of the education landscape in England, but relatively little work has been done to understand the issues facing teachers and staff in these schools.
“Our findings emphasise how important teaching assistants are to providing education to children with a wide range of needs in all types of schools, but particularly special schools.
“Surveys tell us special schools face acute teaching assistant shortages, but DfE doesn’t collect regular data about this. It should do so. Without that information, we cannot fully assess the workforce challenge facing special schools.”
NAHT, said: “Support staff play a vital and rewarding role in helping children in special schools – but these findings echo what we hear from school leaders in these settings about the difficulties they face in affording, recruiting and keeping hold of teaching assistants.
“The unpalatable truth is that in some areas, teaching assistants can earn more working in a café or supermarket, and we need the government to do more to improve their pay.
He added: “Access to specialist staff, such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, is also an issue amid workforce shortages, and neither are special schools immune to the recruitment and retention crisis facing teaching, where action to boost pay, ease workload, and to go further in fundamentally reforming school inspection, is desperately needed.
“Funding is a big issue, however, and last year 84% of school leaders we surveyed said they would be forced to reduce the number of teaching assistants or hours worked by teaching assistants in the following three years due to budgetary pressures. It’s therefore vital that pay rises are properly funded by the government so that already pressured school budgets do not have to reduce provision elsewhere to pay for them.”
Headteacher of Abbot’s Lea School, Mrs Ania Hildrey said: “The findings from NFER’s research highlight the growing pressures facing special schools nationally; pressures that we, at Abbot’s Lea School, experience first-hand.
“Recruitment and retention challenges are escalating, running costs are rising, and the complexity of students’ needs is ever-increasing. At the same time, special schools are being asked to take on greater responsibility for services that have traditionally been provided by social care and the NHS, often serving as an additional emergency service.
Mrs Hildrey explained: “A particular concern is the severe shortage of specialist staff. We have been actively recruiting for a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, and a child and adolescent psychotherapist for a long period of time, and despite offering attractive terms and conditions, these roles are incredibly difficult to fill. Many specialists are being drawn to overseas positions, where pay and working conditions can be superior. Teaching assistants (of all levels) are absolutely crucial to special education, yet recruitment remains challenging, and data on shortages is not systematically collected. If we are to address this issue effectively, we need a clear national strategy that properly values and funds the roles that make a real difference in students’ lives.
“Without urgent action to improve recruitment and retention, students with the highest levels of need risk missing out on the essential support they require. It is essential that the government works alongside schools to find sustainable solutions – ensuring fair funding, improving workforce planning, and strengthening collaboration between education, health, and social care. Without this, the sector will continue to struggle to meet the needs of the children and young people who rely on it most.”
