Schools are facing mass departures of teaching staff after the
pandemic, as new analysis from Labour reveals that even before
Covid more newly-qualified teachers were leaving schools than
ever before
According to analysis by the Education Policy Institute, the
proportion of teachers intending to leave the profession has
almost doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, with 71 per cent
of surveyed teachers reporting that the Government's handling of
Covid has made them more likely to leave.
Yet the situation was already worsening pre-pandemic. Labour
analysis of school workforce data shows that the proportion of
newly qualified teachers leaving within one year of qualifying
has risen throughout a decade of Conservative governments.
Between 2011 and 2019, the proportion of teachers leaving the
profession within one year increased by 25 per cent - a potential
loss of over 3,500 new teachers.
Pupils are now more likely to be in overcrowded classes, with the
ratio of pupils to teachers in state-funded secondary schools at
its highest point since 2011. This is piling extra pressure on
teachers, and has exacerbated the impacts of the pandemic with
bigger bubbles requiring more children to isolate out of school.
Meanwhile, the number of teacher vacancies has more than doubled
since 2011, with over 1,000 teaching posts currently unfilled.
Shadow Schools' Minister, , is
warning that the Government's refusal to back teachers through
Labour's National Children's Recovery Plan will put a generation
of children's futures at risk.
,
Labour's Shadow Schools' Minister, said:
"The Conservatives mismanagement of education is driving teachers
from their classrooms leaving pupils without the personal support
they need to thrive. "And this is only likely to get worse as we
exit the pandemic."
"Gavin Williamson's clown-like mismanagement of our schools is
beyond a joke. It's threatening to derail the life chances of all
of our kids and exacerbate the gap in learning that is seeing
kids on free school meals falling further behind their peers.
"Teachers and school leaders have worked incredibly hard to
support children through the pandemic. Now the Government needs
to support them, and back Labour's Children's Recovery Plan,
investing in school staff to ensure every pupil gets the help
they need to bounce back from the pandemic and reach their
potential."
Ends
Notes to editors:
Recent survey results from the Education Policy Institute
revealed that teachers??? intentions to leave the profession by
Summer 2021 have increased from 12 percent to 21 percent, with
similar increases seen in intentions to leave by Summer 2022 and
Summer 2025. 71 percent of classroom teachers reported that the
government???s handling of Covid-19 has made them more likely to
leave, compared to just 35 per cent for their school???s Covid
response and 34 percent for personal circumstances: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-pandemic-and-teacher-attrition-an-exodus-waiting-to-happen/
Newly-qualified teacher retention rates have fallen over the last
decade
- Percentage of annual intake not remaining in the profession
after 1 year: 2011: 11.9% to 2019: 15.5%
- In 2019/20 there were 22,862.8 newly qualified entrants
(excluding deferred entrants, those previously in the private
sector, and returners)
- 15.5% of 22,862.8 equals 3,454 teachers
leaving the profession within one year on current retention rates
Source: School workforce in England: November 2020 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england
?? Pupil to teacher ratios (PTR):
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england#dataBlock-8549ba8c-78d8-476e-f779-08d9211c2708-tables
?? Pupil to teacher ratio in state-funded secondary schools from
2011 ??? 2016:
?? 2011: 14.9
?? 2012: 14.9
?? 2013: 15.0
?? 2014: 15.0
?? 2015: 15.3
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2018
?? Teacher vacancies have more than doubled since 2010/11.
Vacancies have increased from 452 to 1098 ??? 2.4 times higher in
2020/21 than 2010/11.
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england#dataBlock-bf94f6ac-01ef-4d5c-682e-08d92a65bd1d-tables
?? The grading process for this summer has added an average of 12
hours more work per week for teachers in secondary schools, sixth
forms and FE colleges, according to an NEU survey: https://bit.ly/3fzf6cv
?? A poll, of 400 school leaders in England, suggests they have
spent on average an extra 44 hours on test and trace since
September: https://www.tes.com/news/covid-schools-headteachers-naht-release-heads-test-and-trace-stop-exodusSource
