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Workload action call to boost retention rates in Wales

Wales’s largest education union has claimed that “unsustainable workload” and a lack of “respect for the teaching profession” must be addressed to prevent a “crisis” in teacher recruitment and retention.

National Education Union Cymru said the Welsh government had taken initial steps to stop people being put off a career in the classroom, but more needed to be done.

New data, compiled by the BBC using Welsh government statistics, reveal that the number of teaching job adverts placed in Wales has outstripped the numbers of applicants over the past decade.

Since 2007, the number of adverts has risen by 9.4 per cent but the number of applicants dropped by 18.6 per cent. At least 14 teaching jobs advertised last year failed to attract any applicants.

Owen Hathway, Wales policy officer at the National Education Union Cymru, said: “There is no doubt that rising workloads, cuts to teachers’ pay and pensions, and the pressure put on the role are making it more and more difficult to recruit and retain teachers.

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