I've just enjoyed a catch up with a dear friend of mine, a CEO of a multi-academy trust. Over lunch we discussed the very real possibility of education running out of teaching staff in the next few years. If you lead in education, you will know some of the challenges:
🤔 Fewer recruits for teacher training over the last few years
🤔 Poor retention of early career teachers, with around a quarter leaving within three years and fewer than 60% still in the profession after 10 years.
🤔 Experienced teachers and leaders leaving the profession in droves, especially after covid: according to a May 2024 report from the Education Committee, the main issues causing teachers to leave the profession include: workload, pay, disruptive pupil behavior, and lack of career development opportunities,
🤔 Increased evidence of people experiencing exhaustion and burnout
🤔 Mothers leaving the profession due to lack of flexible working opportunities
If you are leading in a school or trust, you will already know how hard it is to recruit experienced, effective teachers. The numbers of applications have dropped off hugely over the last few years. Many schools are already operating with vacancies, adding pressure to existing staff.
Therefore, there is a need for a very real change in schools - in addition to recruitment drives funded by the DfE. Every trust and school has the responsibility to ensuring that existing staff are retained through providing them with every opportunity to thrive and develop.
Many trusts and schools are already using lots of effective methods, but we all need to ensure that schools are workplaces where people flourish.
Some of the strategies we discussed included:
😊 Creating a culture of psychological safety - where everyone feels confident to share their views and concerns, ask questions and be listened to respectfully.
😊 Valuing every member of staff, and recognising this often
😊 Finding time to really listen to staff when they need support.
😊 Implementing initiatives to improve work-life balance. For example, not expecting staff to work at the evenings and weekends (and having email and marking policies to support this).
😊 Removing expectations for planning days or other informal working days within the school holidays
😊 Making reasonable adjustments so that teachers are able to attend important life events, such as their child's sports day, within the school day.
😊 Making it easier for parents to return to work after maternity or paternity leave with flexible working arrangements if these can be accommodated
I'm sure that there are many more. What other strategies would you recommend? Join in the conversation.
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