Responding to the Welsh Government's move to raise the incentive paid to attract and retain new teachers in 'priority' subject areas, Laura Doel, national secretary of school leaders' union NAHT Cymru, said:

“While we agree that an ambitious plan to help schools struggling with recruitment and retention of teachers is needed, we don’t think focusing on subject-specific incentives is the way to go.

“This risks creating a two-tier workforce and appears to be a short-term sticking plaster solution for a systemic problem. There appears to be no requirement for teachers to work in schools for a certain number of years following their induction to gain or retain these benefits, and we know a significant proportion of teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching.

“The new government’s focus would be better directed at addressing the fundamental challenges facing not only secondary teachers, but also their primary school counterparts and school leaders too.

“By going further in restoring the real-terms value of pay, which fell sharply over the previous decade, improving terms and conditions, and bearing down on unsustainable levels of workload, ministers could make the profession an attractive long-term career proposition once again.

“But schools also need fairer funding to recruit the staff and support staff they need and deliver for pupils. Ensuring they are not short-changed and receive the full consequential funding they are owed under the Barnett Formula must be a priority for the new administration.”