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Original poster

Third of England’s teachers who qualified in last decade ‘have left profession’: DfE data

299 replies

sunnydaytoday0 · 09/01/2023 16:53

www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jan/09/third-of-englands-teachers-who-qualified-in-last-decade-have-left-profession

Nearly a third of teachers who qualified in the last decade have since left the profession, according to Labour analysis that has been released as the party attempts to shift the political focus on to education.

With the results of strike ballots by teaching unions due in the coming days, Labour intends to use a Commons vote this week to push their plan to impose VAT on private school fees, which they say would help pay for new teachers in the state sector.

According to a Labour analysis of Department for Education statistics, of just under 270,000 teachers who qualified in England between 2011 and 2020, more than 81,000 have since left the profession, or three in 10 of the total.

Why didn't Sunak make sorting out the absolute crisis in staffing in education one of his New Year promises?

OP posts:
HerReputationMadeItDifficultToProceed · 09/01/2023 20:59

I'm secondary English, now tutoring part time in a PRU. Whenever I do supply I get offered a job. That's not an exaggeration. They're so desperate that if you've got a head and two legs and can turn up on time, you get offered a job. It's madness. I'm registered with four agencies and for the last 18 months or so I'm offered work every day, often by all four agencies and very often they won't take no for an answer and ring back pleading with me, even when my reasons for not working are insurmountable (sick kid, no car that day and the school is 30 miles away etc). Husband is also a teacher and his school is desperate for teachers, especially in maths and English, but they just can't recruit.

Shinyandnew1 · 09/01/2023 20:59

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

mnahmnah · 09/01/2023 21:00

@ClaudiusTheGod
I had a trainee once who marked a whole set of assessments with ‘to of gotten a level 5 you should of…’ I had to go through them all with tippex!

Another was asked by a student what the highest mountain was (a yr 9 should have known this anyway of course!). Trainee said she didn’t know and asked me in front of the class! Even when I said Everest there was no recognition. The student then asked if anyone ever climbed it and she said ‘oh I doubt it’!!! It was all I could do not to headbutt the desk!

Shinyandnew1 · 09/01/2023 21:01

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

Quinoawoman · 09/01/2023 21:02

I've been teaching 20 years and I'm planning my exit strategy. I'm no longer a class teacher, year leader or core subject leader and now I just do PPA cover. My reasons for wanting to leave are:

  1. Feeling that I'm no longer able to meet the needs of the children. The curriculum is based entirely on some Tory's arbitrary vision of education and not on what is appropriate for child development stages. It forces us into poor educational practice in order to cover the content, cramming children full of facts at breakneck speed - because there isn't time to learn any if it in depth - and then leaves everyone wondering why the kids can't remember anything and why they're not enjoying lessons like the used to.
  2. Increasing pressure from parents and school leaders to meet children's emotional needs, which we can't do effectively because we are not counsellors or play therapists - and see point 1.
  3. Workload pressures meant that I was effectively being forced to put my own children to one side in order to give all of myself to the kids in my class. I was increasingly a miserable and intolerant mother because my class were getting the best of me every day.
  4. Schools basically only function on the goodwill of the teachers - most of whom are people-pleasing nurturers whose good nature is taken advantage of. Now that I'm no longer willing to play that role, there is no career progression for me. The pay isn't awful but it will NEVER go up beyond inflation increases now as I've hit the top of the scale and I don't want to be a school leader as part of a system that is failing the kids.
Quordle · 09/01/2023 21:07

mnahmnah · 09/01/2023 20:57

@ClaudiusTheGod

I had a trainee once who marked a whole set of assessments with ‘to of gotten a level 5 you should of…’ I had to go through them all with tippex!

Another was asked by a student what the highest mountain was (a yr 9 should have known this anyway of course!). Trainee said she didn’t know and asked me in front of the class! Even when I said Everest there was no recognition. The student then asked if anyone ever climbed it and she said ‘oh I doubt it’!!! It was all I could do not to headbutt the desk!

I could go on. But it just depresses me.

We cover this in Y3 🤣

mnahmnah · 09/01/2023 21:09

@Quordle

Quite! My 5yo knows.

cardibach · 09/01/2023 21:10

I’m semi retired after 34 years in the classroom. I do supply. I’ve just agreed to 4 days a week in a school I really like for this term - after the first day back (inset!) I’m regretting it…I’ll do a decent job but I’m having strong boundaries regarding working hours - if it can’t be done in them it won’t be done - and I won’t be taking another long term booking.
It’s workload and public attitudes and pupil behaviour.

KitchenDiscos · 09/01/2023 21:13

I’m part of that statistic. In the 7-8 years I taught, it went from bad to worse, and I couldn’t do it anymore. We know we’re not respected, especially by the Tories.

Shinyandnew1 · 09/01/2023 21:14

If Ofsted was scrapped, I would be much more willing to stay. The utterly pointless pressure that comes alongside it is all-consuming and is so unnecessary. It has also created a whole swathe of offshoot consultant jobs where people in suits who don’t teach, are paid a lot of money to tell people who actually do teach every day, that they aren’t working hard enough. That is wrong-just cut out all the crap and give the money directly to schools.

FestiveAF · 09/01/2023 21:15

Shinyandnew1 · 09/01/2023 21:14

If Ofsted was scrapped, I would be much more willing to stay. The utterly pointless pressure that comes alongside it is all-consuming and is so unnecessary. It has also created a whole swathe of offshoot consultant jobs where people in suits who don’t teach, are paid a lot of money to tell people who actually do teach every day, that they aren’t working hard enough. That is wrong-just cut out all the crap and give the money directly to schools.

Never a truer word spoken.

Bagzzz · 09/01/2023 21:17

The tories are running down public services while they can.

in terms of self interest do most teachers for private schools not come through training I. State schools or are they recruiting elsewhere, maybe abroad?

Passportpondery · 09/01/2023 21:18

I’m secondary maths and got out this term. Wouldn’t return to the classroom again for anything.

LlynTegid · 09/01/2023 21:18

If you are 'that parent', if you won't acknowledge that your child can misbehave even if good at home, if you think rules apply to other children not yours, you are part of the problem.

Not the only cause, pay, conditions, Ofsted, housing costs and no doubtless others, but you have still contributed to the issue.

Luckycatt · 09/01/2023 21:23

I left teaching in last decade. I didn't leave because of pay or because of kids behaviour. In fact, being in the classroom with kids was respite from the rest of the job and I loved it. That's why I went into teaching!

The reason that I left were to do with unbelievable pressure from above for proof/data meaning half my workload was doing something I KNEW wasn't helping my classes to learn. The workload was immense, the stress of constant. There was no flexibility so I was missing every single key event with my own young children, and management basically treated us like dirt, not professionals. I was so unhappy and it had nothing to do with money or the kids I taught.

themimi · 09/01/2023 21:26

LlynTegid · 09/01/2023 21:18

If you are 'that parent', if you won't acknowledge that your child can misbehave even if good at home, if you think rules apply to other children not yours, you are part of the problem.

Not the only cause, pay, conditions, Ofsted, housing costs and no doubtless others, but you have still contributed to the issue.

If every parent paused and thought 'am I that parent?' before writing a shitty email after 8pm, morale would rise instantly.

MrsHamlet · 09/01/2023 21:26

More and more, we have trainees who do it NEVER intending to teach. And honestly, in some cases, that's a good thing.
Now you can't ask them to know anything about it before they start, and the unis just need them all to pass, there are some truly dreadful trainees. They shouldn't pass, let alone teach.

themimi · 09/01/2023 21:27

And how many threads on Mumsnet descend into 'go up the school and demand/shout/threaten Ofsted/MP' etc etc.

Luckycatt · 09/01/2023 21:28

Oh, and I completely agree with all the PPs who've mentioned that training is not the problem. It's retention. I'm pretty sure we have enough qualified teachers in UK not actually teaching to fill the vacancies multiple times.

But even if any of us would be up for coming back, with school budgets the way they are they couldn't afford us. The system as it is needs a stream of cheap NQTs to keep costs down. Problem is, there's no one left in the schools to train them!

KinderCat · 09/01/2023 21:29

I am trying to be part of this statistic! In year 10 of secondary teaching and desperate to leave.

Like many have said it isn't really one issue, but the combination. The biggest factor for me has been the redundant paper and data activities that aren't for the benefit of students and are purely for Ofsted/SLT benefit. But behaviour (specifically the entitlement and laziness from some parents/students), pay, how outdated the system is for non-academic students, respect, removal of autonomy and the blame culture all play a role.

After a long period of waiting and trying we finally adopted our little boy and he was the eye opener that this is a job that will keep taking and taking without end or let up. I hate it and if I can find a job go pay the mortgage, finance etc as a starting salary I would leave in heartbeat, no second thoughts and would not return.

mnahmnah · 09/01/2023 21:29

@themimi

I particularly appreciate the ones sent at 3am in a drunken haze

themimi · 09/01/2023 21:30

mnahmnah · 09/01/2023 21:29

@themimi

I particularly appreciate the ones sent at 3am in a drunken haze

Demanding that this is 'sorted' before p1.

Birdwitted · 09/01/2023 21:39

I'm part of this statistic. I left to work in a private school - not something which I ever really thought I'd do but it was that or leave teaching, and I do actually like teaching! When I switched I couldn't believe I had time in the day to actually do things like plan lessons and mark. My reasons for leaving were poor student behaviour which we were expected to deal with completely alone - no support from SLT or centralised punishment system and far too much wasted time doing things like long twilight meetings and generating meaningless data. The classes were also double the size. I worked 12 hours a day and all day on Sunday and still felt like I was doing a poor job. Now I am a parent, I have literally no idea how anyone combines teaching full time in the state sector with a family.

napody · 09/01/2023 21:42

Quinoawoman · 09/01/2023 21:02

I've been teaching 20 years and I'm planning my exit strategy. I'm no longer a class teacher, year leader or core subject leader and now I just do PPA cover. My reasons for wanting to leave are:

  1. Feeling that I'm no longer able to meet the needs of the children. The curriculum is based entirely on some Tory's arbitrary vision of education and not on what is appropriate for child development stages. It forces us into poor educational practice in order to cover the content, cramming children full of facts at breakneck speed - because there isn't time to learn any if it in depth - and then leaves everyone wondering why the kids can't remember anything and why they're not enjoying lessons like the used to.
  2. Increasing pressure from parents and school leaders to meet children's emotional needs, which we can't do effectively because we are not counsellors or play therapists - and see point 1.
  3. Workload pressures meant that I was effectively being forced to put my own children to one side in order to give all of myself to the kids in my class. I was increasingly a miserable and intolerant mother because my class were getting the best of me every day.
  4. Schools basically only function on the goodwill of the teachers - most of whom are people-pleasing nurturers whose good nature is taken advantage of. Now that I'm no longer willing to play that role, there is no career progression for me. The pay isn't awful but it will NEVER go up beyond inflation increases now as I've hit the top of the scale and I don't want to be a school leader as part of a system that is failing the kids.

Great post.
We're at breaking point.

Birdwitted · 09/01/2023 21:43

My suggestions for improvement would be more extensive SEN provision involving specialist teachers as well as TAs, and basically paying more to reduce class sizes and put teachers on a lower teaching timetable. I'm not sure what you do about the parental expectations and the behaviour. Agree that Ofsted is completely pointless and causes SLT to waste time on things which make like difficult for staff and have limited impact on students. None of my friends from university who started in teaching are still there now.