Most of us can remember that one teacher, the one who made a difference at school, the one who changed how we saw the world or ignited a fire that propelled us into our chosen field.
For me, it was Mr Maguire, my history and politics teacher. His passion and commitment didn’t just inspire a love of learning - it shaped the course of my life. I wouldn’t be writing this as a member of Parliament if it weren’t for the example he set.
But today, too many children won’t get that same chance. New polling from the education charity Teach First reveals a stark truth: schools serving the most disadvantaged communities are struggling to staff key subjects, particularly those vital to the jobs of the future.
Deprived areas suffering
This isn’t about a lack of will. Prior to entering Parliament last year, I served as a maths teacher in exactly this type of community.
I saw first-hand the depth of commitment among teachers and their desire to make a difference.
But right now, schools are being forced into an impossible situation - cutting subjects simply because they can’t recruit expert staff.
In the most deprived areas, 31 per cent of schools cannot offer computer science at A level and 9 per cent can no longer offer physics A level, specifically because of a lack of teachers trained in these subjects.
A matter of social justice
These are not niche options - they are gateways to some of the fastest-growing and highest-paid sectors in our economy, including artificial intelligence, engineering and tech. If we don’t act now, we risk locking countless children from the poorest areas out of high-potential careers, simply due to their postcode.
This crisis goes beyond education - it’s a matter of economic and social justice.
If we don’t ensure access to high-quality teaching in every subject, in every school, we’re not just failing individual pupils. We’re failing to build the skilled workforce our future economy depends on.
This Labour government has made a strong start on reforming education, rightly prioritising teacher recruitment with a pledge to bring in 6,500 more teachers and exploring options to make the profession more attractive and sustainable.
Build and go further
These are vital foundations. Now we have the opportunity to build on them and go even further.
Our first responsibility is to be prudent with public finances; we need to invest wisely in policies that offer the greatest long-term return. There’s no greater investment than the next generation.
For children to unlock their full potential, they need a trained teacher in every classroom. Making teacher training financially accessible and attractive is the key piece to the puzzle.
That means we should consider better pay for those working in the most challenging schools, and greater support for employment-based routes like Teach First - the very route through which I entered the profession.
Yet right now, unqualified teacher salaries have fallen by 12 per cent in real terms since 2010, with teachers delivering busy timetables earning less than £22,000 in some contexts. This risks putting teaching out of reach for too many, especially parents, career changers and those from lower-income backgrounds.
Pay premium boosts
The government should look at expanding targeted pay premiums. Evidence shows that these incentives are effective in attracting and retaining teachers in high-demand science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and languages.
That’s why we should extend them, particularly for shortage subjects in priority areas, where a qualified teacher can make the greatest difference.
Schools serving the most disadvantaged communities stand to gain the most, yet they too often lose out. After all, graduates in subjects like physics and computer science can earn more in industry than in the classroom.
No child’s future should be determined by their postcode. No school should be forced to scale back its curriculum due to a lack of candidates. Every pupil deserves a teacher like Mr Maguire - someone who believes in them, challenges them and helps them thrive.
But the stark evidence in this polling shows that now is the time to act. If we want the next generation to thrive, we must act now - to value our teachers, support their training and ensure that every child, in every classroom, can learn from the very best.
Mark Sewards is the Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley and a member of the Commons Education Select Committee. He was a maths teacher for eight years
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