To think droves of teachers will make the decision by husband made today- to leave

I left teaching over a decade ago and moved abroad.
There was far too much pressure and stress created by senior management. The job was unmanageable. I was expected to take on all kinds of roles without any monetary compensation (because there wasn't the money apparently).
I loved the children, working with them and seeing them progress but my health was starting to suffer so I left.
In the intervening decade, and especially in the last 2 or 3 years, I've been appalled to see that the vast majority of my friends from the last two schools I worked in have also left. One after another. Like dominos. They were all excellent teachers and were people I thought would be in it for life. But no.... they've gone on to do various things such as tutoring, driving instructor, office work etc. I found it particularly sad that two wonderful nursery nurses who did degrees (and that involved an immense effort juggling study, family and job) and became teachers have also since left saying that it just isn't like it used to be and it isn't manageable.
It's appalling. Something is very wrong when the profession is haemorraging people like that.

I left teaching 7 years ago, albeit for personal reasons rather than teaching reasons. It does depend hugely on the school. I worked at 4 schools in total, all primary in KS2. 1 was very supportive. 2 were not. 1 was amazing but then the head changed and then it was awful. Support from senior leaders is key. I had a child who would strangle children, they were all terrified. I had scissors thrown at me. I was called a whore. I had a parent screaming at me about the school’s latest ofsted. We had to call the police when a parent turned up to collect her child extremely drunk and wanted to drive them home and when parents were physically fighting in the playground. I don’t how many times I was called a stupid bitch by both children and parents, several at least. These were across all the schools but the thing that made the most difference was the reaction of the SLT. I will add that most of the children were wonderful and I miss teaching children like that a great deal but I would never go back it.

See this is why I think the money/torries issue is a rbit of a red herring, one of the biggest issues I can see in schools (especially in senior school) is the appalling behaviour and attitude of both pupils and their parents....no one is addressing this and I think extra money will be a sticking plaster....it is a deep societal issue in this country and it's scary.

Been teaching nearly 30 years. I don't recognise the severe behaviour you have quoted but I know it happens. The system is broken because there more demands re SEN, poor mental health and lack of postive parental engagement. Behaviour is getting worse but, IME, management are in denial. This has helped me decide that I am going 5 years earli. I don't have a financial plan. I just know with the conditions as they are, I can not do this much longer . Deal.with the root of the problem: indiscipline, workload and pay.

Education system is at crisis point, very tough for teachers, parents and students. I can totally see why teachers would leave. Going back quite some years ago, when my DS2 was in primary, key stage 1, his really lovely teacher left for a totally different career choice, very sad to lose good teachers.

Should a teacher expect to be abused then? I can't believe given some of the experiences described here that someone would deduce that basically if you can't put up with that then you're not right for the job! The issue is with the behaviour, not with the teacher!

Yes, my DD worked in a girl's grammar in Essex. There was a fair share of deprivation, but her experience was much, much better there, than in the private London school she teaches in now. She has had to deal with much worse behaviour in the private school...quite nasty parents, unengaged, dismissive etc...
And students telling her to "Fuck off, my parents pay your wages", and the like. A lot of entitlement. The only good thing is she had a really good, supportive SLT.

It can't be clawed back can it? Once respect and discipline has gone, once parents see kids as their best mates and put them on a par with themselves rather than moulding them into good humans, once they spend so much on them due to peer pressure and what the media tells them to, once kids have more power than teachers.... the stable door is well and truly open.

I made this decision at Easter for similar reasons. YANBU

Except 40,000 other teachers left last year before retirement age and the government recruitment targets haven’t been met, so where are these people ‘who can do the job properly’ going to come from and how are we going to persuade them to stay?

You are lucky!

Sounds like he's not right for teaching. Not everyone is and it's best for the children that he moves on and they get someone who can do the job properly.

Saddened to read many of the responses. Several of my family were teachers, last one retired (normal retirement age) about 15 years ago.

It may sound extreme, but every time a teacher is assaulted by a child who is the age of criminal responsibility or above (or a parent assaulting), involve the police.

I work in schools and don't recognise this level of poor behaviour. I worked in a state school today where the behaviour is generally excellent. I'm sure he could find a job in a better school.

It sounds awful and it’s unacceptable.

it’s the main reason I send my DC to fee paying schools. I cannot imagine them having to put up with that level of disruption. It’s weird how parents who make that choice are universally castigated for doing so.

Forgive me Skybluepinky but you sound like you might be one of the parents who is part of the problem. Have you actually taught?! It's just that the rather tired comments about holidays and mythical 'respect' that teachers either do or don't command very much suggests to me that you haven't.

(15 years in teaching - mainly in inner cities with very tough kids inedded. Currently senior team - no longer on term time only contract - find it vastly less stressful).

This sort of behaviour doesn't seem to happen in the schools run by people like Katharine Birbalsingh. But all the liberals seem to hate her and what she stands for.

Schools are already run by those of a liberal-left persuasion. So Labour aren't going to change anything. Except to worsen things by their levelling down agenda of attacking private education and selective state schools.

I'd be interested to know from the teachers saying they've been attacked etc why do you think things have got so bad? Are schools still excluding pupils if they misbehave? It's just absolutely shocking. If you punched a pregnant woman twice outside of school surely you'd be arrested?!? This sounds so different to my school experience and just wouldn't happen at my kids school (private) the kids are scared of the headmaster and definitely don't want to get called into his office. I'm really pleased they are strict with discipline, this just sounds awful and completely unacceptable

Yes. That is why my sister left. And took a pay cut. Increasing pay would not attract her back.

I don’t know how teachers do it, I wouldn’t last a week.
I hope your husband recovers quickly and finds a good job where he is appreciated..

I quit half way through my NQT and never looked back!
Only good thing to come out of my time at uni was meeting DH

I fully support teachers and schools being harder on students. By that I mean excluding and sending them home. It will annoy the parents and hopefully it could make them care more about their kids attitudes?

I don’t know how to make some parents care more, I don’t blame the kids per say, if the parents are enforcing rules / respect there’s no hope

In 30 years time, when the current generation of school kids are grown up, I hope they study what the fuck went wrong in the parenting of their generation and what caused it. Or maybe they’ll actually agree that it was the system, and not them/their parents?

I think the pendulum swung too far. A few generations ago, parents were strict and often emotionally disconnected from their kids. Smacking was the norm. The next generation, born into the age of consumerism and individualism, were much more liberal with their kids, and more child focussed. As a result, their kids grew up thinking they were the centre of the universe, and insisted everyone regard their own children as perfection walking the earth. God knows how we claw our way back from that.

broken for a long time

Precisely! Was so disappointed when I saw that policy by Labour because it just says to me they have no clue about the issues in teaching! The teacher retention is the issue, no point hiring more when they’re just all going to leave, waste of everyone’s time and money!