Our recent report ‘Grow your own: Best practice for developing teaching talent in school trusts’ explores the benefits effective professional development has for trusts and the challenges they face in providing it.

This blog explores the idea of ‘growing your own’ and how it offers trusts an alternative to traditional recruitment. 

Bringing new teachers into the profession is an ongoing challenge. Initial Teacher Training uptake has missed  in secondary every year except one since 2012/13, and in primary was achieved in 2025/26 for the first time in three years.  

Meanwhile, amongst working teachers, retention rates continue to fall. Data on the school workforce in England reveals that around a  within five years.  

What does â€˜Grow your own’ mean? 

‘Grow your own’ is about schools developing their staff from within. Staff development in schools â€“ upskilling your own staff to become qualified teachers or to progress â€“ enables schools to ease the pressure on recruitment and open more pathways into teaching.

Our research shows that trusts are already ‘growing their own’ teaching and leadership talent by designing coherent professional development pathways and creating conditions where teachers can flourish.

Schools that offer sustained, evidence-based professional development see ,  and . Strategic professional development is used by trusts as a tool to attract and retain talented teachers which in turn positively impacts on pupil outcomes.

It’s important to note that ‘grow your own’ is not a replacement for recruiting externally. Rather, trusts will want to use all the levers at their disposal to grow and maintain a talented teaching workforce within their schools. The ‘grow your own’ approach is a particularly effective way to achieve this.

Benefits of developing your existing staff 

Developing existing staff members before recruiting new ones also offers an economic benefit. 

Our research shows that replacing a single teacher can cost more than £11,000, factoring in recruitment and supply cover costs. For a mid-sized trust, this could quickly add up to hundreds of thousands of pounds annually. 

Our report highlights three headlines that leaders can benefit from in relation to recruitment, retention and staff development in schools: 

1. Professional development is the new recruitment strategy 

Professional development is no longer just a retention tool. It also benefits schools by attracting ambitious talent. 

Demonstrating your commitment to professional development signals to potential hires that a trust and school is: 

• Committed to investing in their teachers 

• Invested in their teachers’ long-term careers and the value that they can offer over time 

• Forward-thinking, supportive and committed to excellence 

2. Coordination with autonomy is key  

A strategic, purposeful and flexible professional development offer is essential. Trusts look to ensure consistency through coordinating staff development across schools, while aligning that staff development with the needs and priorities of individual schools and their staff. 

Consistency in your offer means better quality control, professional development outcomes and training that feels more worthwhile, in turn improving outcomes across your school and trust. 

Enabling schools to then align that offering to the needs of their staff helps to ensure that staff development in schools feels relevant and meaningful, which is vital for teacher engagement.

3. Investment in people is central to school and trust improvement

Research indicates that professional development is key in influencing workforce stability, with evidence-based professional development seeing greater staff retention.

Effective staff development has a direct impact on teachers’ skills, improving teaching quality and therefore student outcomes – but that’s not its only benefit. Making a visible investment in your people makes them feel valued, increasing not only retention but also engagement and motivation at work. 

In turn, this affects a trust’s outcomes and reputation – both of which further support recruitment and retention.

Routes into teaching 

The most common route into teaching is completing Initial Teacher Training (ITT) which leads to the award of qualified teacher status (QTS). This can be university-led or school-based. 

For trusts and schools looking to grow their own teachers, a school-based ITT route or courses such as a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship (PGTA) mean trainees can work in your school while they get their qualification.

PGTAs are funded through the government’s apprenticeship service, so your school gains valuable talent without impacting your learning and development budget. Schools who pay the apprenticeship levy have course fees fully covered, and those who don’t still only cover 5% of course fees.

Staff who already have experience at your school, such as teaching assistants, can use courses like our Straight to Teaching course that equip them for the Assessment Only route, which awards QTS once they can show they meet the English Teachers’ Standards. 

Upskilling an existing member of staff means gaining a teacher who already has classroom experience, understands your school’s ways of working and has preexisting relationships with parents and colleagues.

Great teachers make great trusts 

Our ‘Grow your own’ report is based on insight from trusts across England. It is a tool ambitious trusts can use to take impactful action and ensure meaningful investment in their people.

Download the report and explore how your trust can secure its future by building schools where all teachers and students can thrive. 

Learn more