Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National
Education Union (NEU) said: “Today’s School Workforce Census
statistics will make grim reading for the Secretary of State. The
number of teachers has now fallen to the lowest level since 2013
- with more qualified teachers leaving the profession than the
number entering, the Government is failing to recruit enough
teachers even to stand still.
“We are losing teachers too quickly, undoubtedly because the
Government is burning them out with an excessive workload and
they can earn more and have a better work/life balance in another
profession. With so many teachers leaving the profession early we
are left with a less experienced workforce which has an impact on
pupils’ learning and makes recruitment into school leadership
posts more difficult in the future. We are also losing the key
influence that experienced teachers play in mentoring NQs.
“The Government needs to fully-fund a pay increase for all
teachers. Teachers’ pay rose by just £300 on average over the
last year – just 0.78 per cent - and teachers are still waiting
to find out whether they will receive a pay rise in
September. The Government must also re-double its efforts to
address workload, but this will be much harder in the face of
falling teacher numbers and rising pupil numbers.”
