Teach First offers support to autumn trainees to combat cost-of-living crisis

The scheme is designed to make it financially possible for high-quality graduates from all backgrounds to start careers in teaching in the areas where they are most needed, after a large increase in requests from school leaders. 

The trainees will be offered a one-off grant of £2,000 if they relocate to take up a place in Teach First’s Autumn Institute, which begins the charity’s teacher training programme in September.

And trainees who decide to commute rather than relocate will be eligible for a grant of £1,000, provided it costs them more than £150 a month to commute to their employment school.

Trainees are also paid a salary from their first day of teaching and will have access to the charity’s Hardship Fund, if they should need it.

Teach First CEO Russell Hobby said: “We’ve had a huge influx of requests from schools for our trainee teachers, many in more isolated parts of the country. We wanted to find an additional way of helping, particularly because of the cost-of-living crisis impacting people’s career decisions.

“Through this small pilot scheme, we want to help address the financial barriers graduates are facing to training as teachers in schools in low-income areas, enabling them to start the Training programme with us and relocate or commute to the schools that need them most.”

Headteacher David Oakes, of The Regis School, a Teach First partner school in Bognor Regis in West Sussex, said: “Schools like ours have pockets of real deprivation, and support pupils and families who at times face incredible and genuine challenges. Social problems within Bognor Regis can be overwhelming, so attracting new and ambitious teachers into the area is hugely important and highly impactful.

“It would make a world of difference if we had access to financial support for new teachers, that supported them either with their relocation, or commute into Bognor Regis from surrounding areas in Sussex. This would ease the stresses of paying off their graduate loans, help them to pay their bills, and allow them to truly imbed themselves into our wonderful school.”

While the job satisfaction in teaching is unrivalled by any profession, a combination of factors has created a “perfect storm” in teacher recruitment in secondary schools.

Rising rents and house prices and inflation hovering above 8% have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis, while a strong job market and increased flexibility, such as working from home, have made other sectors more attractive.

Trainees can only apply for one of the two grants. It is expected that if a trainee relocates, they should move to somewhere from where they can afford their commute to their school.

MEDIA CONTACT:

For more information, please contact: Ollie Wilson (owilson@teachfirst.org.uk), Jacob Archbold (jarchbold@teachfirst.org.uk) or press@teachfirst.org.uk; or call 020 3841 8483.
 
EDITORS’ NOTES: 
 
About Teach First

1. Teach First is an education charity committed to giving children facing the biggest barriers the chance to fulfil their potential. It backs the schools with the toughest challenges. The charity finds and trains teachers, develops their leadership teams and plugs them into networks of diverse expertise and opportunities to create real change. Teach First has placed more than 15,000 teachers and leaders, has more than 130 headteachers in its training programme alumni and has supported more than two million pupils.
2. To qualify for the relocation grant, trainees will need to provide evidence of a new address, for instance, a tenancy agreement which they took up between being matched with an employment school and starting work there.
3. These grants are one-off payments offered to attract additional trainees at a crucial time for teacher recruitment.