Retention rates worsen for new teachers

Commenting on teacher retention rates published today by the Department for Education, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“Statistics published today by the Department for Education show that teacher retention rates have worsened for new teachers.

“Of the teachers who qualified in 2013, 67.7% are still in service after five years. This is lower than the five-year retention rate seen in the previous year, when the figure was 68.5%, and this is the fifth consecutive year the rate has worsened.

“It means that we are losing a third of our teachers within five years of them qualifying. This rate of attrition is far too high and is a major factor in the severe shortage of teachers being experienced across the country.

“We are pleased that the government has recognised the need to do more in its recent teacher recruitment and retention strategy. But it must act with a greater sense of urgency.

“Schools and teachers are under far too much pressure because of real-terms funding cuts which have left them doing more with less. And teacher wages have stagnated as a result of years of government austerity.

“The government must improve the level of funding to schools and it must fully fund a decent pay rise for teachers.”

The statistics on retention rates are contained in the DfE’s ‘School workforce in England: November 2018’ (Table 8).