Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission a review into the reasons that teachers have left that profession in the last 10 years.

Driving high and rising standards is central to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, with high-quality teaching the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. This is why we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament to ensure every child has the qualified expert teacher they need.

A successful recruitment strategy starts with a retention strategy, and we continuously review what works best in retaining teachers and the barriers to retention. The department collects data on teachers’ and leaders’ intention to leave the profession, and reasons for having left, through the Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders (WLTL) longitudinal study. The department uses the study’s findings to design policies that better support teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders. The study is accessible at the following link: https://www.workinglivesofteachers.com/.

The WLTL study findings show that teachers most commonly leave, or consider leaving, the profession due to high workload, followed by stress and/or poor wellbeing. We are committed to working with the sector to address these issues.

The department has made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing. The department’s ‘improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, developed alongside school leaders, helps schools to cut unnecessary workload. It can be accessed at: https://improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff.education.gov.uk/. In addition, the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, co-created with the sector, sets out commitments from government, Ofsted, schools, and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. Over 3,900 schools and colleges have signed up to the Charter.

The WLTL findings also show that teachers consider leaving, or do leave, due to pressures related to inspection and pupil outcomes. We are introducing a school report card in place of Ofsted single headline grades to deliver more information for parents on the strengths and weaknesses of schools and proportionate accountability for staff. The independent School Teacher Review Body (STRB) suggested that government should consider the removal of performance related pay (PRP) in favour of enabling schools to decide on appropriate forms of appraisal which has been taken forward.

Former teachers surveyed cited dissatisfaction with pay as a reason they left the profession. This government has accepted the STRB’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.

For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support the retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.

Former teachers also cited a lack of flexible working opportunities as a reason for leaving the profession. The department has published a flexible working toolkit, which includes practical resources to help school leaders implement flexible working and to support school staff to request it. It is accessible here: https://www.flexibleworkingineducation.co.uk/dfe-toolkit. These resources have been produced by school leaders and other sector experts, together with the department. We have also clarified that teachers can undertake their planning, preparation and assessment time at home.