The latest school workforce statistics (revealing recruitment and retention data for 2022) released on 8th June 2023.
In response, James Zuccollo, Director for School Workforce at the Education Policy Institute, said: “Today’s school workforce data exposes a concerning increase in the number of classroom teachers and headteachers quitting their roles ahead of retirement. Whilst teacher retention rates improved during the pandemic, in the years preceding the pandemic there was a growing trend of teachers and headteachers leaving their roles before retirement. Today’s data shows that headteachers are now four times more likely to quit their role for careers outside of state schools than they were in 2010.
“Overall retention rates have worsened: for mid-career teachers and those with up to 20 years of experience, retention rates are at record lows. A decade after qualification, only 59% of teachers remain in the profession today. Ten years ago, that figure stood at over 65%. However, it is positive that early career teachers are now staying in the profession longer than they were before the pandemic.
“Policymakers must consider the impact the loss of experience may have on the quality of teaching in the years ahead. Particularly so as both vacancies and temporary posts have increased dramatically, indicating that recruitment remains difficult. Our research shows that many pupils are still experiencing lost learning as a result of the pandemic and so a healthy pipeline of quality teachers entering and remaining in the profession is critical for the years ahead.”
