Nearly half of teachers plan to quit in the next 5 years

[freebritknee]

I saw this from a survey carried out by an education union.

Unmanageable workload is a significant factor.

This is madness how have the unions allowed the state of teachers employment to get this far where nearly half of them want out?!

When it comes down to it, I know a lot of people who changed career to become a teacher, and who returned to their old job within a few years.
I don't know a single teacher who left teaching for another job, and who returned to teaching (SAHMs excepted). Those people never come back.

I think that pretty much illustrates the problem. If it was just as hard out there in the corporate world, those ex teachers would return. And those who left corporate to teach, would not go back to it so quickly.

it really is a case of working more efficiently

I bet she doesn't teach in FE either.

Some subjects at some levels, sometimes have a lesser workload. Sometimes departments can work together to produce a lot of the basic paperwork, leaving individual teaches to modifiy it to suit.

But that has never ever been my experience. I have worked wth people who had less of a workload than I did, and some that had more. But we were all pushed to meet demands within our supposed working hours.

I mean come on 200+ individual students a week takes a lot of work just keeping track of their bloody names, let alone teaching them anything.

@MrsHamlet

Ok so test those who leave and not those that stay till 18... our entire education system is far too restrictive, narrowing subjects too early. A good idea in theory, except you then have to make them decide what they want to do post 16 before they take exams. Some students don't know what they want to do. If you close down their choices by making them decide at 14 what they want to leave with at 18, you're making it more challenging.

That's my point - don't make them make choices. Keep it open till 18 like the USA then they decide their major after a year in college - similar to Scottish universities too with a 4 year HE.

Children are already being forced into ridiculous decisions at 13 and 14. Many schools have decided to run GCSE curriculum years 9-11 to try and improve grades! How boring is that for teachers and pupils!?

@hernamewasrio but they still get to take about 10 subjects until 16, which is a lot more than some countries do. Then everyone gets some qualifications, some will leave and start work, some may go and do vocational training and some may decide to do further exams to go to Uni. You seem to be implying everyone wants to stay in education ? A lot don't - they hate formal education and do much much better in the working world. But they should have something to show for 11 years of schooling.

And in America many poorer students never finish high school so have nothing at 18. Hinders them for the rest of their lives.

And you suddenly need a lot more teachers.

@Appuskidu

I agree with the planning-I would much rather do my own planning BUT have access to class sets of quality text books which-because in my fantasy land, the government hadn’t completely changed the curriculum again-wouldn’t be totally obsolete.

I would also like if it the government decided that it’s current free phonics scheme was suddenly not working, then they should revise it and re-release it, again free. What they have done instead is released a list of approved schemes schools have to buy, and completely match their reading scheme to. This will cost us thousands of pounds. I wonder which Tories have mates with stakes in the publishers?!

Absolutely agree. We'd just updated our reading scheme when this new guidance for phonics came out. So so much money, time, training and resources needed.

I am super-efficient at marking, 15 minutes to tick a class set of questions. English teachers could learn from my efficiency.

I'm also super-efficient at planning. I go online and google free resources for any maths topic I like. Primary teachers could learn from my efficiency.

I'm the best.

[quote mumsneedwine]@hernamewasrio but they still get to take about 10 subjects until 16, which is a lot more than some countries do. Then everyone gets some qualifications, some will leave and start work, some may go and do vocational training and some may decide to do further exams to go to Uni. You seem to be implying everyone wants to stay in education ? A lot don't - they hate formal education and do much much better in the working world. But they should have something to show for 11 years of schooling. [/quote]
Happy to be convinced otherwise. It just seems an awful lot of unnecessary stress for everyone. Teachers are up against it and telling my year 11 daughter her future depends on her grades. Clearly it doesn't. It just might be different paths she takes...

We are not worthy oh noblegiraffe

Obeisance is due

@noblegiraffe

I am super-efficient at marking, 15 minutes to tick a class set of questions. English teachers could learn from my efficiency.

I'm also super-efficient at planning. I go online and google free resources for any maths topic I like. Primary teachers could learn from my efficiency.

I'm the best.

Can I come and shadow you for a week or two please?

Is it 10 subjects these days?

Ye gods!

As an ex teacher who now home educates my own DC, the problem is the system. Yes there’s an big issue with retention & recruitment but we have to ask the question ‘why?’ ‘what is at the root of that problem?’ Good teachers are leaving in droves.

It’s unfit for purpose and is just not working for modern day Britain. Teachers are struggling to actually teach as the children don’t want to learn in that way anymore! It’s antiquated and out of touch with modern day children.

Our education system was set up during the industrial revolution and hasn’t changed much in all those decades. I was only talking to a teacher friend yesterday who said ‘I’m trying to teach things that I was taught at school (she’s 60) and it’s so outdated and irrelevant, it’s meaningless’. Teachers are being forced to teach this ‘one size fits all, Victorian curriculum’ and it’s like banging your head against a brick wall. It puts huge amounts of pressure on the teachers and on the children. It’s a system of almost continuous assessment and testing. It’s soul destroying for all involved. Hence we are unschooling from all of that and loving every minute.

@AllisoninWunderland
Completely agree that the education system was set up on an entirely different world and is not fit for purpose. Needs radical re-design. But those who think a Labour gvt would do this are deluded. Tony Blair had a massive mandate and could have been radical but he wimped out and we are stick with a rusty clanking bit of ld machinery. Free Schools looked like an opportunity but they also just sped the tired old order. Some school are breaking the mould but they are in the private sector - state is stuck in mud.

@JangolinaPitt
Great points.
I’m not sure any government has the guts to overhaul it. In 2014 Gove actually made it worse!! He brought in ridiculous amounts of complex grammar to the primary curriculum and moved targets and objectives down a couple of year groups thereby putting even more pressure on everyone.

The change has to happen from within. Teachers, Headteachers, Governors, parents all have to start advocating for children. They need to stop collaborating with the crazy and reclaim children’s childhoods and love of learning. Their right to a proper education. Not one that is so ultra prescriptive and let’s face it DULL! It’s so boring for kids! As Yeats said so long ago ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’.

Yes it may suit 5% of children but I can tell you as a primary teacher that the vast majority of them are disillusioned and worse.

I’m not anti-school. School serves a purpose for society. But I am so against it in its current form.

I don't want them to be radical. I don't want major overhauls of the system. We're talking about teachers being broken by workload and 'radical' and 'overhaul' only ever increase that.

Take away some of the pointless shit. Lessen the workload.

Some school are breaking the mould but they are in the private sector - state is stuck in mud

@JangolinaPitt
I’m a fairly new teacher, I’ve not worked in private schools. What are they doing differently?

I think one of the problems is that for years now there have been claims of a recruitment crisis and the exact same claims have been threatened ten years ago, twenty years ago. Leaving in droves, on their knees, etc.

I don’t have stats with me and in any case stats can and are manipulated. But it’s common sense that if something is repeatedly claimed but then people don’t see evidence of it then the threat loses any impact.

@noblegiraffe

I don't want them to be radical. I don't want major overhauls of the system. We're talking about teachers being broken by workload and 'radical' and 'overhaul' only ever increase that.

Take away some of the pointless shit. Lessen the workload.

It would have to be slow creep. Start in EYFS and be implemented alongside a specific year's cohort. So a whole decade to prepare for it, if you are in FE.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist

Part of the problem is that it is never a slow creep.

There have been some good ideas in with the detritus but the plans are never given the opportunity to come to fruition because a new minister comes in and changes them every couple of years.

It would have to be slow creep.

Which is why education has to be taken out of the hands of politicians.

Gove’s reforms were pushed through at high speed to meet a 2015 GE deadline. It meant they were a poorly thought-out mess which created havoc and last minute amendments, but hey, at least Labour couldn’t overturn them if they won the election

But it’s common sense that if something is repeatedly claimed but then people don’t see evidence of it then the threat loses any impact.

There is evidence; classes taught by TAs, classes on endless cover, classes taught non specialists (maths and science especially). But schools are so good at 'hiding' it, and parents aren't that bothered as long as someone else is looking after their kids 9-3.

We already see on here the number of parents who believe their child's school hasn't been affected by staff absence.

@FrippEnos

SamphirethePogoingStickerist

Part of the problem is that it is never a slow creep.

There have been some good ideas in with the detritus but the plans are never given the opportunity to come to fruition because a new minister comes in and changes them every couple of years.

Oh I know. But in the years that have passed since I left/ran away I have fantasised about how it could be done if only somebody who cared, knew enough, stood outside political parties was in charge of the reconstructions.

Much of the tick boxing, regular formal assessments, could be stripped out immediately, giving everyone more head space and time.

EYFS is already good, just needs someone to listen to the teachers about proper integration with KS 1. Which would kickstart KS1 changes.

Who could then liaise with KS2 and on an on and on. Every teacher everywhere gets a weekly reminder about discussion board they can have input into, monthly bulletins of progress so far, reviews of changes, can dip in and out of the cahnges as they see fit, can keep abreast of what is happening and start to add input about their specialist subject/level.

Good schools, good teachers would welcome the chance to have input, to see how the changes are creeping inexorably towards them. Each KS could have its own symposium etc. Discuss what they think is required.

Those who don't can wait for the briefings and new curricula!

All pie in the sky. I know