To ask: how many good teachers are we losing this year?

[SachaStark]

I am one of you.

Asking partly out of a place of seeking solidarity as I plan to leave a profession I love very much, but which has exhausted me both mentally and physically in just six years.

And partly because I think many parents still need to be made aware of how many teachers their children will lose over their school careers these days. I think, really, we need to rely on their voices to speak up in vast numbers before any changes will be made in state education.

We are a month now from the end of the school year in England, so notice hand-in period has ended, and I wondered how many, like me, who are passionate teachers, who in another life would have spent another few decades in the profession, are going?

I feel totally fed up and close to leaving. My question is why do SLT seem to relish making life even harder with endless stupid initiatives?

Not for everyone, but for lots of teachers the thing to do may be to leave that school/sector rather than leave teaching altogether. Others have mentioned independent schools, I moved to a special school, and I’m still loving it 10 years later. Could never go back to mainstream. And, in my area at least, parents are actively recruited for these schools as there is a lot of instinct required over recent training

I really enjoy being a supply teacher, after decades of class teaching. Coping with a massive drop in income is much less stressful than being a ft class teacher, paperwork’s, politics and targets barely register, and the joy of freedom is intoxicating.
If I dislike working in a school, I don’t have to return. That’s worth living like a student for several months of the year.

I'm not a teacher, but I think it so sad that the system is making it impossible for good teachers to stay in their chosen profession. It is such an important job and you guys who are doing it should be supported.

That random apostrophe belongs to autocorrect!

I don’t know if this is a nationwide issue but there was a major reorganisation across a few schools in my LA and everyone in my school over 45 was made redundant (some early 50s chose to take voluntary severance.) Anyone who did not go in the first round was managed out in the following year, sometimes in not pleasant circumstances eg applying for their own jobs which they did not get.

Lots of staff wanted to get another job but In the five years since, I can’t think of a single person who has managed to find permanent work. Some are making a pittance on supply and a few are doing short term contracts. Some especially the men are making a living doing something completely different eg decorating, diy, carpentry.

Point being, the profession has lost a lot of committed and dedicated teachers whose experience is not valued. I’m talking 40 odd teachers and support staff. I don’t know how teachers are supposed to work until their late 60s. It would be impossible in my LA.

I left in December 2017 after 14 years. I loved teaching, loved my subject (Chemistry), loved (most of) the kids, taught in a great school and was good at it.

My decision to leave was based on one thing - workload. There are too many changes, too many targets, too much responsibility and too large a teaching load to fit it all into. The choice was to have a life outside school or stay in teaching. On top of this, our department had a new manager. The old one had been a ‘stress umbrella’ whereas the new one was a ‘stress funnel’. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I’d been teaching for the last 7 years with a degenerative health condition. I’d had a great deal of help and support from Access to Work and was managing well until the last year. When I made the decision to leave I applied for ill health retirement and was awarded it straight away (a rare thing in teaching).

Being a pensioner at 42 is a strange thing but I’m not complaining. Life is much better now.

Well I left at end of my mat leave at beginning of school year. I was teacher for six years as well

I left last year due to workload pressure. I also knew that due to the effects of funding cuts things were only going to get worse.

I teach 4 days a week in a sixth form college. I earn a liveable (some might say decent) salary doing this and, of course spend every day off working plus Sunday mornings. However, this is my way of reaching a lifestyle that is reasonable. There are periods of high stress but overall it's much better than full time and I would NEVER go back to the stress of secondary teaching now. Could/would you consider sixth forms/FE colleges?

At the end of my eleventh year. Not only do I not want to teach anymore but I don’t want my kids to go to any secondary I have experience of! Not just the horrendous, relentless behaviour that will destroy their chance of learning anything but the narrow focus on teaching to the test which has made education so miserable. Not to mention the pressure of ‘aspirational’ targets. The system is broken, so utterly broken.

I have dropped yet another day. I teach a core subject so I can get a job part time and on UPS3 still but I will struggle on three days financially - but it’s that or my health.

I will definitely be out of teaching in the next few years unless I move to the private sector or a sixth form college. I can’t face the behaviour for much longer.

I promise that this isn't a faux po-faced question, but could some of the teachers here outline what the changes are over approximately the last 15 years that has led to such a frequent burnout for teaching staff? Is it just that things have turned into a production line, more focused on rote learning than passion? For context, my last experience with the mandatory UK education system was when I left it nearly 20 years ago and, as I have children who will be starting within the next couple of years, these horror stories are beginning to unsettle me a bit. I guess I'd just like to understand a bit more comprehensively the challenges that teachers face nowadays.

Another parent sad to read this.

My ds2 did so well at his normal state comp and I made sure I thanked every single teacher that helped him achieve his grades. He also enjoyed college and the tutors were also very good.
I work as a 'minion ' part time in a primary state school
and I can see the dedication there : some parents can be really horrible. It's a tough job and I know I couldn't do it.

@Taxiparent would you be prepared to pm some details about online schools? I am currently at home with a baby but I will never (hopefully) go back to the classroom.
I would like a job though, and this sounds fab.

Just out of curiosity what jobs did people move into after leaving teaching? Keen to think about my next steps

but could some of the teachers here outline what the changes are over approximately the last 15 years that has led to such a frequent burnout for teaching staff?

Changing curriculum without sufficient time to implement things.

Continual new fads without any previous ones being dropped.

Constant monitoring-tracking, drop ins, observation, triangulation, data drops, book scrutinies, climate walks, pupil progress meetings.

You are only ever as good as your last observation and if a member of SLT doesn’t like you (usually because you’ve noticed they are a complete useless twat or...you are on UPS and just tad too expensive) then they can soon find something to make you inadequate.

Stupid marking policies where tick = right and x = wrong simply isn’t enough. Marking in red is bad, but green, pink and purple (purple poxy polishing pen anyone?!) is fandabby do. When you’re forced to write more in your marking that the child themselves wrote, you know it’s a joke. What worked well, even better if... blah blah!

Planning-3 part, 5 part, 7 part lessons and with personalised plans for each child with SEN, PP, more able, LAC etc When this takes longer than the lesson takes to teach, you know that’s a joke too. Lesson objectives, chilli challenge, success criteria, mini plenaries...

SLT implementing stupid new things that you have to do but they haven’t themselves actually taught a class for 5 years so have no idea what it’s like.

Behaviour policies that involve SLT telling you children are throwing chairs in your lesson because you are not engaging enough.

Performance management-used to withhold pay and to put people on capability.

No money, so no paper, pencils, books, lightbulbs or the sticks and classrooms falling down around our ears.

Inadequate funding for SEN.

Ofsted.

I’m sure others can fill in anything I’ve missed!

I have to say I am sad to see what has happened to the education system; this coming from someone who teaches at undergraduate level for a professional role.

We are seeing increasing numbers of students who lack common sense, basic life skills and the inability to adapt; however they can pass a written test. These students are graduating into a field they are not going to be able to progress in, as they lack the ability to make logical jumps and think on their feet

I remember my school years very well. I went to a small independent school until 2006 (year 11) which unfortunately closed down last year as the old headmistress passed away.

I remember maths and english every morning and free studies on the afternoon.
We used maths cubes to build numbers, learned to use a sewing machine to sew greek clothes, baked Tudor style apples in the kitchens, knitted hats for local nursing homes, put on school musicals twice a year and sports included dancing, ice skating and orienteering.
I remember teachers dropping us off aged 11 in the Lake District with a map and compass and telling us to find our way back home.
French lessons included playing board games and conversational topics and physics involved catapulting objects over the school using mechanical equations we had to solve. We were taught to decorate and basic plumbing and electrical knowledge by helping around the school. We were given the freedom to try and fail and learn from mistakes.

And the outcome of all of this?; I can repair my own clothes as I learned to sew, I knitted and crocheted my DDs blankets and costumes for world book day, I can bake and cook very well, I can hold a conversation in French and German (whilst playing cluedo!) I can play multiple instruments for joy and I can find my way home wherever I am without GPS. I can decorate, changes taps, repair the toilet as well as problem solve issues in the house.
I also ended up in a professional role, whilst having all of this fun with dear friends (even though I didn't get a series of A*s at GSCE or A-level).

I have to say I utilise the life skills my school education taught me more than the subject themselves as everything I was taught was relevant to everyday life, not for the sake of learning.

I am very sad to see the destruction of the education system, which I don't think is now reversible without many major changes which won't occur, but more sad to see the loss of these small independents that held the old beliefs that "education is not the learning of facts but training the mind to think" to quote Albert Einstein.

On a brighter note the independent I mentioned above has a sister school in the same area, which is still running to this day; so I hold out hope my DD will be able to access the same education I was able to have and learn the life skills I use every day; and if not I can teach her myself.

Left last year, UPS expensive, 55, new wanker head, ended up wanting to drive my car into a lampost rather than go to work. 6 months off, councelling, depression, went back for last 2 weeks of term so I didn't go on half pay. Now work in tiny, new indie school - so broke but so happy.

could some of the teachers here outline what the changes are over approximately the last 15 years that has led to such a frequent burnout for teaching staff?

The biggest things for my subject are the change in specification and the dropping of coursework- they make the GCSE curriculum completely inaccessible for many students. We have no foundation tier, no option for practical college placements where appropriate and literature is now compulsory so schools can double count the best English grade.

Students come to us with, frankly, inflated grades from KS2 and then simply cannot make the progress that leadership demand they “should”. This results in near constant rounds of “rapid improvement plans” which waste further time.

The other thing that has noticeably changed in schools in the last 15 years is child access to technology- MH professionals are increasingly researching links between this and a lack of both resilience and attention span - something that I need my students to have.

I think the final change is the slashing of funding to outside agencies who used to be able to add capacity and support students for lots of different reasons - we are expected to do this now as well as teach.

12 years in and also DH.

Am on the brink but not sure of next steps. My notice period Is long but not sure whether to try another school without the management aspect or do something very different. It’s gutting.

For those asking why it’s so hard....

Continual changes to the curriculum, assessment etc.
In my school, absolutely no parental input or support.
Expectations that teachers are also social workers, mental health workers, family support etc.
Is thankless; the job expands and is never finished.
Frequent and intense scrutiny from outside professionals.
High levels of safeguarding.

I could go on .....

DH and I have both left teaching in the last 3 years. We now also home educate our kids. I've met many ex-teachers in the home ed community, which is very telling.

Ten years in and desperately wishing I could afford to do something else.

I'm worried for when my DC starts secondary.

It is such a shame as there is so much money being put into training new teachers. I am in Scotland. We do not currently get the 25k bursary for some subjects so I suppose that weeds out the folk looking for a quick buc. However I have witnessed some truly atrocious people making it through their PGDE and BaEd.

I think part of the problem is people coming into the profession with no prior work experience. Expecting a rose tinted version of the role based on their memories of school. Having never before being used to pressure, deadlines, shitty colleagues/seniors, contention, debate or compromise or in fact anything that comes from just getting on with it.

fedup2, that's a good summary of the main issues from my experience.

Just a few articles featuring teachers themselves describing why they felt they had to quit:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/education-45377897/why-we-quit-teaching

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/13/teacher-burnout-shortages-recruitment-problems-budget-cuts

www.buzzfeed.com/matthewchampion/why-teachers-are-quitting