The uncertain future of Britain’s education sector

“When overseas European teachers can no longer settle… the likelihood that they will opt to choose the UK as their base will be diminished”

It is no secret that Britain’s teaching workforce is struggling. Last year, every single secondary subject – aside from Biology and English – fell short of recruitment targets.

This January, Tes estimated this shortfall to be close to a thousand. In some subjects, such as Physics, hundreds of teaching spaces are going unfilled; despite initiatives and marketing campaigns being introduced by the Department of Education, domestic talent is not enough to fill teaching positions in UK schools.

Meanwhile, Britain has been hurtling towards an ever-likelier no-deal Brexit. Despite parliament managing to push through a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit on October 31st  last week, Boris Johnson is still hinting at the prospect of crashing out on this date without an agreement, in a move which would defy law, but is still very much a possibility.

Without a deal in place before this date, the cabinet has promised an immediate end to free movement, which would mean In practice, this will mean all European professionals, including teachers from the EU, will need a Work Visa if they wish to take on new positions in British schools after Brexit day. In turn, with any other deal in place, all post-Brexit immigration plans point to the same scenario – though a two-year transition period would make this less immediate.

As part of the requirements for a Work Visa, individuals must have a job offer from a British school, and this must have a salary of at least £30,000 pa. What’s more, after teaching for five years in a British school, individuals will only be eligible to apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) if their salary has been raised to £35,000 pa or more.

In 2018, the average salary for a qualified secondary school teacher was between £23,720 and £28,089, which sits below the minimum salary requirement for a Work Visa.

Even in the case where schools may offer higher salaries for overseas teaching professionals – such as for specialist STEM or MFL teachers – the likelihood that even an experienced teacher could meet the minimum settlement salary of £35,000 is low. The median UK salary, even for secondary teaching staff with up to nine years’ experience is £32,000.

In 2018, the average salary for a qualified secondary school teacher was between £23,720 and £28,089, which sits below the minimum salary requirement for a Work Visa.

Even if this concern is cast aside, the ever-increasing UK visa and settlement application fees are incredibly off-putting for overseas teachers. The cost for a Tier 2 Work Visa is £610 per individual applicant, and a further £704 to extend. For each dependent child or partner accompanying the applicant, a further £610/£704 is added for an application or extension. For Indefinite Leave to Remain, applicants must pay £2,389 each, and a further £2,389 per dependent.

When free movement ends, and overseas European teachers can no longer settle with their families and teach in the UK’s schools without cost or restriction, the likelihood that they will opt to choose the UK as their base will be diminished.

There were an estimated 3,525 Europeans awarded qualified teacher status in the UK between 2017-18, which shows just a fraction of the number of EU nationals who are currently helping to fill gaps and teach British children in the UK’s schools.

During the same year that this figure was recorded, there was also a 17% drop in the number of applications to teaching roles from European applicants – a figure sector experts attribute to the referendum result.

There is one silver lining for certain subject-teacher applicants; the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). This is a list used by the Home Office to keep track of all roles which are currently ‘in-shortage’ – in other words, they cannot be filled by ‘domestic talent’ alone. Currently, this term includes British and EU talent, but after free movement ends, EU nationals will be exempt.

There is one silver lining for certain subject-teacher applicants; the Shortage Occupation List

If a role is included in the SOL, Work Visa applicants for this position are allowed some leeway, including a reduced minimum salary and visa fees. Currently, the SOL includes two teaching roles: Physics and Chemistry teachers. Various campaigners have put forward movements to encourage the Home Office to consider adding the rest of the teaching roles which are experiencing skills shortages to the list. However, this is yet to have been considered.

Despite the benefits of a SOL listing, however, the application fees for those who have worked in shortage roles for years still need to pay the full Indefinite Leave to Remain application fee for themselves and their dependents and meet the same restrictions. With these in place, the likelihood of European teachers choosing the UK as their professional base after Brexit are still slim.

There is a real concern growing within the education sector that the combination of Brexit and restrictive immigration and settlement policies are going to be severely detrimental to it; widening skills shortages and impacting the education of British children.

About the author: This article has been written by Luna Williams, political correspondent at the Immigration Advice Service; an organisation of immigration solicitors based in the UK.