More than a third of workers in the education sector have either already taken steps to leave the profession or are actively considering it, a new poll shows.
A YouGov poll for the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that 34 per cent of education workers, including teachers and teaching assistants, are considering quitting their jobs over low pay and poor conditions.
The union says the survey shows that the government could face a “mass exodus” of staff from the public sector if key workers don’t get the pay rises they are seeking.
Overall, the survey of 7,095 adults, of which 1,417 were public sector workers, found that 32 per cent have already taken steps to leave their profession to get a job in another field or are actively considering it.
Commenting on the survey, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “Leadership supply for our schools is teetering on the brink.”
He said school leaders are “feeling devalued and demoralised and are being driven out of the job they love”.
Teachers and school leaders ‘need a fair deal on pay’
Mr Whiteman referenced recent government records, which showed that “more than one in four primary school leaders, and more than one in three secondary school leaders, leave within five years of appointment”.
“We urgently need the government to work with us to build a new, fair deal on pay, funding, workload and accountability, to relieve the extraordinary pressures on the profession and make a lifelong career in education attractive and sustainable.”
Earlier this month the NAHT announced that it would move to a formal ballot on industrial action over pay for the first time in its 125-year history.
Members will be asked two questions later this year: whether they back strike action and whether they support action short of a strike.
And the NASUWT teaching union opened its balloting on Thursday this week for industrial action over pay, while the NEU launched its formal ballot on Friday.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said key workers in the public sector “helped get the country through the pandemic” but now many are “at breaking point because of a toxic mix of low pay, unsustainable workloads and a serious lack of recognition”.
Government ’only has itself to blame’ for strikes
On the prospect of industrial action, Ms O’Grady added: “If there is large-scale public sector strike action over the months ahead, the government only has itself to blame.”
She said that ministers ”must change course”. “Without decent pay rises for key workers in the public sector, we face a mass exodus of staff,” she added.
In the survey, almost half (45 per cent) of key workers in the public sector said “the government approach on pay has made them more likely to leave their job in the next one to three years”.
Of those public sector key workers who said they have taken steps to leave or are considering leaving, around half cited low pay (52 per cent).
Feeling undervalued (47 per cent), a poor work-life balance (33 per cent) and excessive workloads (31 per cent) were also major concerns.
Earlier this month school leaders warned that the government had to act urgently to avoid schools “nose diving” into industrial action, as rising costs threaten the quality of school provision.
Data released by the Department for Education earlier this year revealed an increase in the number of new teachers leaving the sector after one year, from 11.7 per cent in 2019 to 12.5 per cent in 2020.
The data also showed that retention rates had risen for teachers between two and six years after qualification but fallen for those between seven and 12 years.
