‘Decade of Tory neglect’ driving teachers out of profession, Labour says

Vacancies have doubled and teachers are now more likely to leave the profession after just a year

Schools are facing a staffing shortage with record high vacancies (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A “decade of Conservative neglect” is driving teachers away from the profession and causing a staffing crisis in schools, Labour has said.

The opposition blamed government policy for falling teacher retention rates, and produced figures showing the educators are increasingly likely to quit altogether.

Teachers are now 25 per cent more likely to leave the profession after a year than they were in 2011 when Labour left office, and 17 per cent more likely to leave after three.

The opposition party says the number of teacher vacancies has tripled over the same period, with nearly 1,000 posts currently unfilled.

The shortage of teachers has seen pupil-to-teacher ratios creep up at both primary and secondary level since the Tories took office.

Since coming to power, the government’s pay freeze has cut teachers’ salaries by £4,000 in real terms, with Rishi Sunak’s latest policy hitting 94 per cent of the profession, Labour claimed.

The government says it is eventually committed to introducing a £30,000 starting salary for teachers and that it will reassess its pay freeze after the economy has recovered.

But for that ambition has no date attached to it and was effectively shelved as part of new austerity measures introduced by the government during the Covid-19 recession.

“Teachers have experienced a decade of neglect under Conservative governments which is driving them out of classrooms," shadow education secretary Kate Green said of the analysis.

“Ensuring every child can bounce back from the pandemic should be a top priority, but the government has said nothing about the workforce that will deliver the additional support and enhanced offer that children need.

“Our dedicated teachers and school leaders have worked incredibly hard to support children and families through the pandemic. We must now recognise their invaluable contribution if we are to deliver the promise of a bright future for every child.”

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union said Labour was right to highlight the issue and that the government had to “start valuing the teaching profession”.

“After teachers have gone the extra mile over the past year to educate the nation’s pupils remotely and keep children safe, the government’s decision to impose a pay cut is nothing short of a slap in the face,” he said.

“Teacher workload was already excessively high before the pandemic. The OECD has said that educators in England work longer hours than anywhere else in Europe, much of it unpaid.

“The burden has only increased in 2021 for members in secondary schools who are now having to pick up the pieces of the government's failure to plan for the assessment of qualifications this summer.

“Our members are working an extra 12 hours a week to have GCSE, A-level and vocational subjects grades ready for students. The government are offering nothing but a pay cut in return for this extra work.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government was piloting a number of teachers retention schemes including early career payments, teachers’ student loan reimbursement and the mathematics and physics teacher retention payments pilot.

The spokesperson added: “Last year we announced the biggest pay rise for the profession since 2005, with above-inflation rises. Our reforms to teacher training, early career support, professional development and teachers’ pay are key to the government’s plans to raise school standards.

“We are also working with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure all pupils have the chance to recover from the impact of the pandemic as quickly and comprehensively as possible – and we have appointed Sir Kevan Collins as education recovery commissioner to advise on this work.”