State of Education Report 2017 state-of-education-booklet-Final-WEB | Page 37

Perception of the profession is in decline: what’s
the impact?
perception of the profession. The east of England and south east are
close behind, with 75% in each region citing retention as a problem.
The issue is least acute in the north east, but 56% of school leaders
Morale is suffering as a result of the decline in how the teaching here still say retention is suffering because of the increased negativity
profession is perceived. Eighty-six per cent and 85% of school leaders about the profession.
in primary and secondary settings respectively believe this to be
true. This negativity is also affecting the number of people applying Workforce issues are further exacerbated by teachers’ reluctance to
for teaching positions, and is making it more difficult to keep current step up to leadership positions, which 60% of primary leaders and
teachers in post. 50% of secondary leaders also attribute to negative perceptions of
the profession.
Recruitment and retention challenges are felt more acutely in
secondary schools, where 83% of school leaders say staff retention
is suffering as a result of the worsening perception of the profession.
The cost of recruiting and training new teachers is high, and so as
Which of the following, if any, do you think is being
negatively affected by the decline in the perception of
the profession?
financial belts tighten, retention concerns are likely to become yet
more troublesome. The parliamentary education committee suggests
it might be time for the sector to shift its focus to retaining teachers 24 , 86% 70%
rather than focus so explicitly on recruitment targets. To address Morale Retention of staff
66% 58%
Number of people applying
for teacher positions Teachers’ desire to move
into school leadership roles
retention issues, however, we need more data to fully understand
the problem. At present, the government collects data on teacher
retention rates by gender but not by subject or region. Nor does the
DfE capture information on why teachers leave; NFER has recently
tried to plug this gap by looking at why teachers might be leaving 25 .
50%
Our findings can shed light on the geography of the staff retention
issue. London is battling one of the greatest retention challenges, with
79% of school leaders citing this as a casualty of the decline in the
FIND FURTHER INSIGHTS: WWW.THEKEYSUPPORT.COM/BLOG
Parent/society
faith in system
2% – Other
44%
School/parent relations
<1% – None
PAGE 37