Special school teachers: Where do they come from? Where do they go?  

Special schools do not recruit their teaching staff directly from ITT routes as much as primary and secondary schools, suggesting more could be done within the existing ITT system to improve the flow of trainees into special schools.  

• The Department for Education does not have a target for ITT recruitment for special schools, nor do existing targets explicitly account for the needs of special schools. 

• The current system seems to rely on teachers developing experience with SEND pupils in the mainstream sector before moving to special schools.  

• Special schools have lower teacher turnover rates than other schools. Given that high turnover has been linked to poor job satisfaction and puts pressure on schools to recruit more teachers, this is encouraging.  

• However, Alternative Provision settings have much higher teacher turnover rates than other schools, and these teachers are also more likely to leave the state system each year. This is clearly a concern.  

• When special school teachers leave, they are more likely to leave the state system than teachers who leave primary or secondary schools. While this could be due to data limitations, supporting more of these teachers to stay in the system could be a useful way of sharing SEND expertise with mainstream settings as the number of pupils with SEND continues to increase. 

Commenting on the research, Michael Scott, senior economist at NFER and the blog’s author, said: “Special schools and their teachers are a vital part of the education landscape in England. Given the challenge special schools face recruiting enough teachers, it is surprising that the Department for Education does not directly account for the workforce needs of special schools in ITT recruitment targets, nor the flow of teachers from ITT routes into special schools when calculating those targets. It should do so going forward.”

About the findings, Robin Bush, CEO of Remarkable Autism, which consists of Wargrave House School and Ascent College, said: “The NFER’s findings highlight key challenges for special schools, particularly around recruitment from ITT routes and teacher retention. While ITT should prepare teachers with the skills and knowledge to succeed, training alone is not the sole factor in retention. A positive work environment, where staff feel valued, empowered and in control of their workload, plays a crucial role in job satisfaction and long-term retention.

“At Remarkable Autism, we’ve not seen the high turnover rates affecting other parts of the sector. This is because we prioritise a workplace culture that supports and engages staff. We focus on values-based leadership, coaching, and open dialogue, ensuring staff feel trusted and equipped to shape their roles and career pathways. By fostering a sense of ownership and wellbeing, we’ve seen staff remain committed to the organisation and the children they support.

“The blog highlights that many special school teachers transition from mainstream rather than directly from ITT routes. While a stronger ITT pipeline into special schools would be beneficial, long-term retention also depends on creating environments where teachers feel professionally fulfilled and supported.

As Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. In education, it should be breakfast, lunch, and dinner, because without a strong, values-driven culture, we cannot sustain a positive and engaged workforce.”

NFER’s first blog, which looked at the workforce in state-funded special schools, teacher vacancy rates and data about teachers with qualified teacher status (QTS) can be found here.