Why are teachers leaving their schools?
What governors think
We know that some schools are facing a shortage of teachers, and
findings from the NAO4 show that the recorded rate of vacancies and
temporarily-filled positions doubled between 2011 and 2014 (from 0.5%
of the teaching workforce to 1.2%). Yet the NAO says that the overall
number of teachers has kept pace with changing pupil numbers, and
the retention of newly-qualified teachers has been stable.
Almost a third (30%) of governors think their school is
facing a shortage of teachers. When we asked what roles
governors were most concerned about recruiting for over
the next 12-24 months, ‘classroom teachers' (44%) came
out on top. More than four in 10 (46%) governoring bodies
have worked with other schools to provide developmental
opportunities that may help to retain teaching staff, and
one in five (21%) has offered opportunities/secondments
in other departments.
So where are teachers going? Are they leaving the profession? We
asked school leaders to identify the three main reasons teachers leave
their school, choosing from 12 options. According to almost half (47%)
of school leaders, one of the main reasons teachers leave is to take up
a job offer at another school. Inability to cope with the workload also
ranked highly, selected by more than four in 10 (42%) leaders, followed
by retirement (32%).
Moving between schools is more prevalent in the secondary phase,
with more than six in 10 (61%) secondary school leaders citing this
as one of the three main reasons their teachers leave their posts,
compared to around four in 10 (44%) primary school leaders. Teachers
in secondary schools also seem more likely to leave their post to retire
than those in primary schools (44% and 29% respectively).
Interestingly, a change of profession comes low down the list of
reasons why teachers are leaving their posts: just over one in 10 (13%)
school leaders believes this to be one of the main motivations.
Which, if any, of the following steps has your
governing body taken to retain teaching staff?
Worked with other schools to
provide developmental opportunities
46%
Offered opportunities/
secondments in other departments
21%
19%
None of these
18%
Offered flexible working
15%
Increased pay
Provided non-monetary
rewards and incentives
14%
13%
N/A
12%
Changed marking policies
11%
Other
Our findings suggest a profession that is more mobile and seeking
better opportunities: although we didn’t include it as an option on
our list, many school leaders commented that getting a promotion at
another school was the main reason teachers are moving on.
4
NAO – https://www.nao.org.uk/report/training-new-teachers
Join the debate @TheKeySupport
8%
Provided social opportunities
7%
Reduced paperwork
Reduced teaching hours
Introduced limits on working time
5%
2%
State of Education Survey 2016 | www.thekeysupport.com
31