Proportion of teachers moving schools doubles over five years
The proportion of teachers moving to new jobs in other schools has risen rapidly over five years, a “churn” that is often overlooked by ministers according to new research by the National Foundation for Educational Research.
Key findings in the report include:
- Both the rates of teachers leaving the profession and moving between schools have increased since 2010 – Whereas five per cent of primary school teachers moved school in 2010-11, the figure almost doubled to nine per cent in 2014-15. Similarly, the proportion of secondary school teachers who moved schools rose from four per cent to eight per cent. The combined impact of this has meant that school leaders have had more vacancies to fill each year, more staffing uncertainty to deal with and higher costs of recruiting replacements.
- Lack of job satisfaction is a key reason why teachers leave the profession – The job satisfaction of teachers who leave the profession for a new job also improves considerably, suggesting that the prospect of higher job satisfaction was also an important factor.
- More and better part-time and flexible working opportunities for secondary teachers is likely to improve retention – Many secondary school teachers switch from full-time to part-time work after they leave teaching, suggesting that there is unmet demand for part-time work for secondary school teachers that drives some to leave.
- Teachers work long hours during term time and are dissatisfied with their amount of leisure time – Teachers work around 50 hours per week in term time, longer than police officers and nurses – even when school holidays are factored in.
Read the full report here.