Moving to teach abroad is not a small undertaking. As such, any school that secures the services of a new teacher should want to do all they can to keep them.

However, too often I have seen schools fail to engage in efforts that would do a lot more to help retain staff that leads to high staff turnover and often they create conditions that staff find intolerable and so quickly look for a new job elsewhere.

Given teachers are a school’s most important asset this is not a great state of affairs so more effort should be made on how to keep staff in school for longer.

Here are four ways to do just that.

1. Housing

Most of us have fond memories of university and cohabiting with friends, whether in halls of residence or a shared house.

However, once immersed in a career and on the path to financial independence, it is only natural to want greater freedom.

Similarly, international teaching staff do not want to feel like students. A number of schools provide accommodation as part of their package and, although this helps staff to settle into their new surroundings, with colleagues in a similar position, they soon yearn for more personal space.

Unfortunately, it is proving cheaper for companies to provide accommodation, especially if rental prices are on a downward trend, meaning staff are left with little control over where they stay.

Certainly for myself, if I had not negotiated a housing allowance and remained in staff accommodation, I would have left my post two years earlier.

Driving home to a community you have chosen, free of people who remind you of work cannot be taken for granted. Having that separation allows you to better juggle your work/life balance.  

2. Continuity

Staff turnover in international schools is often highest in leadership positions.

This is perhaps another topic altogether but the knock-on impact is that as each new leader, keen to make their mark, arrives with a host of new ideas they want to implement, teaching staff are forever stressed and exasperated trying to keep up with the latest new idea.

This is not good for staff morale or the ability to deliver great learning to pupils.

More continuity is needed at the management level to allow staff to settle into their role and understand the school’s systems.

Then, when changes are brought in, they should be done so gradually, rather than flitting between the latest trends, so staff feel they have time to adapt and grow with these new expectations.

3. A culture that trusts

Inspections are stressful everywhere in the world, but the way some international schools treat them can vary hugely in terms of how it impacts staff.

Indeed, I have worked at two schools with very contrasting approaches to inspections and so feel qualified to say which method worked better for staff morale.

For example, School A would mention a potential school inspection and forever stress their importance and concerns during most staff briefings. This built detrimental pressure on the team and a continual sense we were not doing enough for this not-even-scheduled inspection.

Even after a visit, plans were drawn up for the next one and the misery continued.

School B, however, would not even mention the word inspection until they received the official call so staff could go about their daily jobs without the added pressure. It built a sense of trust that whenever an inspection came we would be ready because teaching was of a suitable standard.

Working in the former environment certainly makes staff less keen on sticking around when they feel they are forever being watched over by management with reference to inspections.

4. Know your staff

It is not unusual for international schools to be run by a corporate company with no teaching experience. Their marketing know-how and business acumen can be a vital addition to securing the future success of the school.

However, when their expectations and decisions overlap into teaching and learning matters and bypass qualified teaching personnel, discontent amongst staff follows.

To really get a feel for a school you need to walk the production line, the beating heart of the organisation.

I love the TV show Undercover Boss as it allows the owner to truly discover what makes the company tick and listen to the honest concerns of the workforce. If corporate schools adopted a similar method they may view the disgruntled moans coming from the factory floor very differently.

If not, a member of staff with no voice, who feels undervalued, will look elsewhere, sooner rather than later.

Overall, teaching overseas is an incredible experience. Nevertheless, the points raised here must be considered by international schools to attract and, more importantly, retain their members of staff who are, after all, more than just names on a spreadsheet.

Jolyon Smith is an international primary school teacher based in the Middle East. He has taught internationally for six years