Workload and pay are key reasons behind the retention crisis in schools, but not the whole story. The role of empowerment and autonomy cannot be underestimated, says Matthew Godfrey


Almost one in 10 teachers quit in 2021/22 (8.8%) while almost a quarter (23.9%) of early career teachers walk away after only three years at the chalkface – this according to the latest Department for Education workforce data (for details, SecEd’s coverage here).

Furthermore, a recent National Education Union poll of nearly 1,800 teachers suggests that almost half of the teachers who responded will quit within the next five years (NEU, 2022).

The most common reason for wanting to leave is due to “excessive workload”. Teaching unions say that the continuing real-terms pay cuts and general underfunding of education are significant contributing factors.

A teacher’s workload can be very demanding. From planning lessons and marking work to dealing with paperwork and providing pastoral care or extra support to children who need it.

At times, this can also feel overwhelming, especially during a long and relentless term with busy days and minimal breaks – and even more so if a teacher is inexperienced, has a full timetable of lessons, and is facing challenging behaviour from students.

But arguably, these factors alone are not the full story as to why so many teachers are leaving the profession. Although the reasons are different for every individual, research has shown a strong link between teacher autonomy, job satisfaction and retention rates in schools (Worth & Van den Brande, 2020). The tipping point tends to come when teachers feel undervalued or unsupported. I know this to be true because it happened to me.

My first teaching post was back in 2000, when I joined an inner-city comprehensive in London as an English NQT. It was an extremely challenging school at the time for a range of reasons: weak leadership, large class sizes, and it served an underprivileged area.

At that time there was a core of talented and committed teachers, but it was very unusual for anyone to stay in their post for more than a couple of years. Like many new teachers, I was idealistic and driven and determined to do my best for the students.

I was promoted to head of English a mere 18 months after joining, and although I would love to believe this was based purely on recognition of talent, the truth is that the school would have struggled to find anyone else to fill the role.

In this case, the main reason for staff leaving was the failure of the senior leadership team to implement an effective behaviour policy and provide adequate support for the teachers. Many of the 950 students behaved in challenging ways if given the opportunity. It was exhausting and demoralising when such behaviour was not properly dealt with. It became very difficult to teach effectively. As a result, I left my post just 18 months after my promotion.

Of course, teaching can be a wonderful and extremely rewarding career choice given the right support and the right opportunities. Gaining a teaching qualification also gives you a professional status, a clear career structure, the ability to work in any location, and close to home if you wish.

There are many other benefits, too, including the potential for terrific job satisfaction and being able to make a difference to the lives of others. However, it is remarkable how quickly these benefits can feel worthless if a teacher feels undervalued or unsupported in their place of work.

The upside is, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that if teachers feel empowered to teach, and if they feel valued and well supported in other ways too, then they will have high job satisfaction and will likely remain in their post for many years. I have seen clear evidence of this in both the maintained and independent school sectors.

As well as my role as deputy head, I am also a governor at a successful comprehensive in north London. Its profile is similar to the school which I joined as an NQT: it also serves an economically deprived area and many of its students come from challenging backgrounds and enter the school from underperforming primaries.

Yet this school has outstanding staff retention, which means that none of its annual budget is spent on supply teachers because the absence rate of the teachers is negligible.

Astonishingly, some large comprehensives are reportedly spending up to £250,000 per year on supply staff, who are called in to cover vacancies of staff who are absent due to stress or illness.

The head at the school where I am governor often tells me that her teachers are so committed because they feel valued, empowered, and motivated by the school’s strong set of values, and the way in which it is followed through with an effective “tough love” behaviour policy. The latter is upheld and enforced consistently and rigorously by all levels of management in the school. Students and staff feel fully supported and safe.

All the teachers are provided with on-going, regular training and their lessons are frequently observed by the senior leadership team; this enables all teachers, especially early career teachers, to receive detailed, supportive and helpful feedback on an almost daily basis, and it also means that poor behaviour is easily tracked and stopped, which is key.

The low absence rate among teachers saves much of the annual budget being spent on supply teachers. This means that more teachers can be recruited, reducing the number of lessons allocated to each teacher. This also frees up time for more effective planning, marking and other out-of-class activities.

In any school, a strong ethos of colleagues supporting one another so that teaching resources do not need to be constantly prepared or reinvented is vital. These resources should be shared and improved upon a continuous basis, saving unnecessary extra workload, and improving outcomes incrementally.

Instilling a clear homework policy will, likewise, encourage meaningful consolidation of learned material rather than extra tasks which need to be marked alongside classwork. It is striking how these factors can result in teachers who feel fully able to teach without hindrance.

When it comes to teacher retention, there is also a great deal to be learned from the independent sector too. Many independent schools are of course fortunate to enjoy excellent facilities and beautiful campuses, but this is not the reason why staff retention is so good.

In my experience, there are three key reasons, all of which could be adopted by any school in the country, and at very little cost if they are granted a little more independence to set their own agendas.

First, independent schools place a strong emphasis on professional development. Typically, teachers will receive a very thorough induction programme, and, in many schools, opportunities are built into the weekly timetable for teachers to share best practice and engage in educational research or development. This fosters a highly professional spirit of mutual learning and support.

Second, independent schools adopt a wide and effective range of strategies to ensure their ethos is as strong as possible. Typically, high expectations of behaviour, involvement and effort are set from an early stage – before the students have even arrived at the school.

The history of the school and the achievements of past students are showcased to generate pride for the school community, which generates aspiration and commitment. There is a strong emphasis on parental/carer involvement to support each child individually. Often, specialist pastoral and academic staff are in place to ensure students receive individualised support. Independent schools are, typically, unafraid of a spirit of competitiveness which, if managed appropriately, can be highly motivating to students.

Third, it is my experience that independent schools specifically prioritise the wellbeing of their staff. A close eye is kept on workload and while professional standards are very high, most leadership teams are responsive to any pressures and difficulties experienced by staff.

That said, many maintained schools adopt many, all and more of these strategies very successfully indeed – these strategies are certainly not the exclusive domain of independent schools. These are simply an indication that both sectors can make a difference together and can absolutely learn from one another.

  • Matthew Godfrey is deputy head at Downe House School, an independent boarding school based in Berkshire and for girls aged 11 to 18.


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