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 have done some probationary work in a different sector this summer. My God, the differences were stark.

On the second day there I was told "I trust you fully". On the by the third day there no one was supervising me anymore (they do have CCTV, but I doubt I've been watched). I had actual lunch breaks. There was no constant rush. I could go to the loo whenever I wanted. People and colleagues were nice!!!! It was amazing.

In turn, they loved my work ethic, the constant being on and generally doing my best every time. So they offered me a job. I need to get some qualifications, but they are willing to wait or me. Wow!!!

Sorry, but no comparison to teaching and within few years I'll earn more with less stress and far less mistrust and pressure. And far more gratitude from people. What's not to like?

Funnily, an ex-teaching colleague just told us in his new job he doesn't even remember to take his holidays. Neither does another ex-teacher we know. Both look years younger than they did teaching and both are off their antidepressants since they quit.

What kind of jobs are ex teachers going into to? I’ve met a few teachers working in libraries but the pay is quite low. Where I live at least, the pay for non professional jobs is minimum wage for retail and under 20k for admin jobs.

I empathise with teachers but I do wonder what careers people would recommend? I always ask this on posts but nobody ever gives an answer. It really seems that in today’s world most jobs are crap.

Riv-I Absolutely dont mind having to be good at maths of that kind-in fact I already am. I've managed a million quid social care budget for the last 6 years with no issues.I can crunch data and identify Trends and all of that with no issue
I do have a problem with having to complete complex mental maths questions such as multiplying several fractions and dividing them by decimals in my head, within 18 seconds per question, as demanded by the QTS maths test however. Not that I even got to do it as the system couldn't cope with the amount of people that needed to do the test 🤷🏽‍♀️.
I will reapply next year as I really want to become a teacher (probably the only job as stressful and encompassing similar issues to Social work to be fair ) but the process has been made much harder than it needs to be and I suspect from what lots of people have said that that will be a trend in the job in general...

Hanging on by the skin of my teeth only two days a week but due to preschooler am paying for him to be in nursery a 3rd day so that I can work at home and the weekends are family time.

After nearly 20 years of having to work all of one day or all of the weekend (taking them off if I have a hol as I would work during the holiday week) I'm still finding the adjustment hard.

Only clinging on as it's a role I love. We'd be able to scrape by if I gave it up but I know I wouldn't go back.

So much admin is an utter tick box waste of time. De centralisation has resulted in micromanagement to a point where no one knows why they are assessing the assessments anymore.

Schools invent things they think will impress ofsted. Every time there's a new set of criteria, management pour over it and knee jerk change things thinking it's better practise.

You never ever ever feel like you are doing a good job.

I don't know many who work as hard as I and my colleagues have, with perfection and stamina, but it's slowing killing all of us.

On the plus side my school is allowing more creativity to creep back in.

Practice ffs.

I left after 18 years when the toll on my health became too big a price to pay. Do bits of casual supply which I love. My only regret is not doing it sooner.

I've been physically and mentally broken several times.

I've signed up to do some supply teaching as I have no money but I'm so relieved not to be getting back on the treadmill on Wednesday.

My degree starts on the 23rd September so I've got a few days to be earn some money!!

I left after 16 years, right before I reached breaking point. I was graded outstanding in every observation during that time (and there must have been about 40 or 50 of them), so it seriously annoys me when people (including head teachers) say that only crap teachers are the ones that can’t cope whereas good teachers should be able to manage behaviour / their time / the workload and not get stressed. I was a good teacher and I was utterly run into the ground.

I’m the happiest I’ve ever been now. Probably the weirdest thing was being a member of SLT and long-time teacher but still being able to just slip away from the teaching system with nobody keeping a track of where I went. Does the government even really know how many of us have walked?!

As to what ex-teachers do: one has become a geologist, one an engineer, another is retraining to join the police force.

Each has had to go through a stint of retraining and subsequent loss of money, but are looking at only slightly reduced pay (the engineer is well exceeding teacher pay) in return for a much better work-life balance.

My chosen career is a bit too niche and outing, but again requires retraining before I can earn around £12,000p.a. more than I do now for far fewer hours and less stress.

@Basketofkittens look at the charity sector. Many charities have roles related to education, and there are also quite a few specific education related charities. Pay is probably comparable.

I tried private school...the behaviour was faaaaaaaar worse than in a state school and management were awful too. Turned out they taught the wrong text for GCSE after i left the English department( was in the news...hehe!)

Im now retraining too...phew!

Ooof I was considering leaving uni teaching for secondary school teaching as it's so hard to get a permanent job. But after this thread I'm not so sure!

And i say " hehe" as managenent blame the teachers for everything to hide their own staggering incompetancy.

I’m going into my 21st year, but I have been in the SEN sector for 11 of those. I still love it, but do have to fight daily HT rhetoric of ‘we have to do it for Ofsted’. But I do fight it, I only do the bare minimum of anything that doesn’t benefit children and parents.
I am committing myself this year to working LESS so that I can manage to continue full time. I’m just not going to put weekend and late evening hours in anymore.

Mood if new incentives and the new ofsted rules (some of which I fully agree with) work, teaching may get better. May. Ofsted are valuing creativity and the arts finally which gove decimated.

I don't know any teacher who does it for the money though; it has to be for the love of teaching. Most of my career I couldn't have told you what I earn (I knew what went in each month of course) other than it was enough for me to manage most of the time and save if I budgeted. I wasn't interested beyond I could live on it. I only know now the yearly salary due to children/ child care etc.

For the first time ever I'm only really doing it for the money but that completely changes my motivation and diligence.

New incentives to pay even newly qualified teachers 30k a year in today's papers.
Will this help at all?

Thanks for the info NeurotrashWarrior. Luckily lecturers are not well paid either! But we simply don't have any behaviour management issues to worry about, which I guess makes a huge difference to the job.

@ the80sweregreat Whilst the money may help a little I don't know any teacher who is in it for the money or the supposed holidays.
It's the workload; the unrelenting pressure on staff and children; the constant changing of goalposts (curriculum, assessment, marking requirements, 3,4,7 part lesson structure, behaviour for learning, jabadeo, write dance, learning hats, P4C, brain gym); the endless, nitpicking observations; ever looming threat of OFSTED; endless hours of paperwork that doesn't help the students; the accountability that expects us to do so much as well as teach (provide food and clothes, be social workers, therapists, nurses, deal with 15 different special needs in a class of 30+ ) and the lack of time to be creative and enjoy teaching and learning that is driving us out. That and the lack of respect for teachers in society as a whole.

Riv, I can imagine it's relentless and even a big pay rise won't keep staff. It's sad it's like this though.

Gosh this is a sad thread. I'm in awe of the teachers at my daughter's school.

What kind of hours are teachers expected to put/putting in now?

The money would make no difference to me... I left a very well-paid teaching position (inner-London payscale)and took a £20k (yes twenty!) cut in salary for my new job. It's all about working conditions, workload etc... teachers will continue to burn out and leave the profession until these issues are properly addressed.

I left 2 years ago after 30 years in Primary education, when I found myself arriving at school at just after 7 am and not leaving until 7pm. I was told to work smarter, but could not get 120 plus books marked and complete my prep for the next day and keep up with the online data and assessment. I am a cancer survivor and the day I told my DH that I had thought about driving into a wall, so I didn't have to go to school, was the day he said enough and that he hadn't watched me survive cancer to watch me slowly kill myself. I handed my notice in at the end of that week.
I currently work on supply covering mainly Y6, I still love teaching but will never return to full time teaching again. 5 colleagues followed me and now the school is staffed by young teachers who are cheaper but are leaving after 2 years max. Good luck to new teachers and they truly deserve every penny of their pay rise.