As the school year draws to a close, we school leaders reflect not just on what’s behind us but what lies ahead on our school improvement mission. Amid the challenges facing us on that mission, the government’s plans to “revamp” the Teach First programme loom large.

Increasingly, our families and communities face socio-economic pressures that often put opportunities out of reach for pupils. Meanwhile, we’re balancing budgets and responding to shifting policies. In short, every day demands new ideas and decisive action.

Amid all these challenges, one thing remains clear: it’s not spreadsheets that change lives but teachers, working together to create a culture of love, structure and high expectations.

The government seem to understand this. Their long-held commitment to recruiting more of them is testament to that. However, it’s hard to see how changing the name and remit of Teach First will help – and it may in fact hinder their progress.

The proposed removal of the Teach First name and identity would undermine the programme’s prestige, crucial for attracting ambitious young people to challenging schools, especially those who might not otherwise have considered teaching.

Widely respected across leading university campuses, this change risks weakening its distinctiveness and appeal among the very candidates we need to attract.

I’ve worked with incredible teachers from every training route. No single model holds all the answers, and a thriving education system depends on a diverse, complementary ecosystem of routes into teaching.  What matters most is quality, purpose and a deep commitment to pupils.

That commitment is under threat across the system because of the deepening recruitment crisis. We simply aren’t bringing enough people into the profession, and particularly not in poorer communities where the attainment gap is widest.

A big part of the issue is that fewer graduates are choosing to teach because they perceive their talent and ambition will be better rewarded in other sectors. And it is this which Teach First has been successfully countering for two decades, by shifting the narrative around teaching.