In anticipation of the National Education Union (NEU)’s annual conference in Bournemouth this week, it released data Monday revealing that 44% of teachers plan to leave the profession by 2027. In a survey of 1,788 teachers, one-fifth (22%) said they would leave within two years. The teachers said that their heavy workload was an important factor in their decision to leave. More than half of respondents (52%) said the workload was “unmanageable” or “unmanageable most of the time”, up from 35% in 2021. For those planning to leave within two years, workload was the main motivator for 65% of respondents, while concerns about the level of trust in teachers by the public and the government were also a major factor. Teachers also cited pay and accountability as reasons to consider leaving. “I am desperate to leave education due to workload, constant monitoring and bureaucracy,” said one teacher. Teachers said schools were finding it difficult to fill vacancies, resulting in a doubling of roles, with 73% saying the problem had worsened since the pandemic began. “People leave and then their responsibilities [are] “he was added to another role,” said one teacher. Another described how “everything is made to the bone”. “We have increased leadership responsibilities, but our time to do so has been exceeded,” they added. “Courses are covered by teaching assistants on a regular basis, as if it were absolutely satisfactory.” Two-thirds of secondary school teachers (66%) said the issue of teaching and support staff vacancies had worsened since March 2020. One respondent said there were “very few” teaching assistants and were asked to fill more than never before. For those who had experienced stress at work, two-thirds reported being stressed at least 60% of the time, with one teacher reporting that prolonged staffing had left staff “close to exhaustion”. Dr Mary Bousted, the NEU co-secretary general, said successive education secretaries “have failed to understand the issues facing teachers”. “We remain a profession with the highest number of unpaid working hours and we are still well above the international average for the working hours of teachers. “This is simply unsustainable and can only lead to exhaustion.” He said the government should not just accept that the high workload was a problem, but that it “played a leading role in many of the contributing factors”. “Our research findings show that whether these are missed recruitment goals, talented teachers leaving the profession, the disastrous consequences of a punitive and deeply flawed inspection system or the impact of real pay cuts for many years, a national policy decision “he is always the bad guy,” he said. He said the Ministry of Education should take steps to “fix the ship”, as too many teachers are leaving the profession, and there were very few new recruits to replace them. “This is very much because the job becomes unattractive and unsustainable,” he said. Bousted added that teaching was a “great and satisfying job” that people got into because they wanted to make a difference. “However, the government is making this more difficult, and if we want to collectively do what is right for young people, then we must be able to offer the education they deserve. “This change must come from the top.” A spokesman for the Ministry of Education said: “We recognize the pressure on staff at schools and colleges and we are very grateful for their efforts, resilience and service now and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. “Teaching remains an attractive and satisfying profession. The number of teachers in our schools remains high, with more than 461,000 teachers working in schools across the country – 20,000 more than in 2010. “We have taken and will continue to take action to improve the workload and well-being of teachers and leaders, working proactively with industry to understand the factors behind such issues and to improve our policies and interventions.”
