Why Are So Many Teachers Leaving Teaching?

Source: https://pixabay.com/en/student-professor-uni-books-study-2052868/

You might have noticed an upturn in the number of overly excited young people in the last seven days. It is that special time that we can all remember from our youth, the freedom of summer.

However, there was also mass celebrations the length of the country for another demographic, teachers.  

It would be hard to argue that most teachers at some point in their career have heard the common question thrown at it them, “it must be nice to have summers off?”. Yet the statistics show that not many people make it in teaching long enough to find out.

The stark reality is that nearly a quarter of UK teachers who have qualified since 2011 have left the profession. A survey by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) found that nearly half of those under 35 were considering leaving the profession in the next five years. So, what exactly is causing our educational front runners to seek other opportunities?

Workload Pressures

It would not be fair to suggest that a teaching career is the only one with workload pressure. There are many other occupations, such as the medical and emergency services that face both public and professional security.

However, the NUT continues to stress that high workloads and pressure are making the job for many of the teachers ‘impossible’. This results in many teachers feeling unable to continue in their role.

And what would a school be without it’s teachers? Lourdes Catholic Primary School in Bristol experienced that actual scenario. Every single member of staff quit since the beginning of the academic year, which included two head teachers. They all cited unacceptable levels of workload pressure.

Even though Lourdes is an extreme case, the NUT sought the views of more than 3,000 teachers across the country and more than half said they worked more than 55 hours a week. Equally, nearly a quarter of teachers who responded, indicated that they worked more than 60 hours a week.

For many young professionals, this is simple too much to cope in comparison to their friends and colleagues in other industries. The combination of government funding cuts, changing of curriculum, and reduced amounts of professional development is simply making the work life balance unsustainable.

Mental Health

This increased workload and work life balance is beginning to merge with a growing epidemic in the UK for mental health related illnesses.

New figures released by the NASUWT are present the fact that more than one in ten teachers are taking antidepressants to cope with work stress. Whereas six in ten express that excessive workloads and lack of support has impacted their mental health to the degree that they have sought some form of release, be that alcohol, medication or other recreational drugs. A worrying trend for one of society’s leading role models and nurturers of future generations.

Equally, another interesting offshoot of the mental health issues faced by teachers, is how schools are responding and caring for their staff. There are a growing number of stories like Nicola Sinclair's, an English teacher who psychologically crumbled as a result of ongoing work-related stress and the negative behaviour of management towards her. Diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, she took a took a settlement agreement to escape Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School before eventually being awarded £346,175 for an unfair dismissal and discrimination due to her disability.

Change

So, how do we retain more teachers?

The easy answer would be to throw money at the situation. The government has been attempting to promote benefits of the teaching occupation in their latest advertising campaigns. The reception has been mixed, with many quick to point out that it does not address the work life balance.

Another belief as the right place to start would be to allow teachers more job sharing or to work part-time opportunities. This would immediately eliminate the same level of workload faced and stress placed on one individual.

Education Secretary Justine Greening has also been lobbying the treasury to abandon plans to cut per pupil funding over the coming years, which may lift some of the weight off teachers’ shoulders.

The true difficulty lies in that fact that no one can decide the best foot forward. The government is fighting against an influx of negative PR about the industry from media, teachers and teachers’ unions alike. If a solution is not found soon, this time of year could be a year around feeling for the young people of the UK.