Teacher job vacancies were at a record high last year, up to 2,300 in November 2022 from 1,600 the previous year, while temporarily-filled posts increased from 2,200 to 3,300. With an exodus from the profession and many retiring earlier, the average age of the head teacher has been falling: from 51 in 2010, to 48 by 2016.
In the same survey, 73 per cent said they have seriously considered leaving their current job and 66 per cent have considered leaving the teaching profession altogether because of the pressures they face.Discussing workload, 59 per cent said it had significantly increased, with 68 per cent reporting an increase in time spent on clerical tasks.
Chettleburgh would like to see the school system adapt in response to the issues. “Our curriculum has not changed for decades,” he says. “It’s a one-model-fits-all, and that’s wrong.
Many teachers went on strike this year, which eventually resulted in a 6.5 per cent pay increase from September 2023, a deal that has now been accepted by the NEU education union. That teachers have been so ready to strike this year, Dexter Bush says, is because of “the level of plate-spinning required and the degree to which [teachers are] simultaneously being dictated to in terms of the curriculum and standardised testing”.
schools mental health programme have been due to anxiety. There have also been more referrals for diagnosis of special educational needs such as ADHD and autism, but with, these needs are not being met.