Top-down pressure on school leadership teams means schools are struggling to create the “collegiate” environments needed for post-pandemic recovery, heads’ and teachers’ leaders have warned.
The warning comes as a new survey shows senior leadership or management style in schools are most likely to push teachers out of the profession.
Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College, has called for more support for leaders after a new survey, seen exclusively by Tes, shows that over a third of teachers say management issues in schools would be most likely to drive them to quit the profession - aside from pay, workload and working conditions.
Ms Peacock warned that “education recovery will only occur” if teachers and leaders are provided with “necessary support.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, also warned that the government must do more to “tackle adverse and bullying management practices in schools”.
He added that teacher wellbeing is “vital to securing the country’s education recovery” after the pandemic.
The survey of 4,690 teachers, carried out by Teacher Tapp on behalf of Bett UK, revealed that aside from working hours, pay and conditions, over a third (34 per cent) of teachers said they would most likely consider leaving teaching due to problems with management.
The proportion of independent school teachers who were so concerned about management style that it could force them to consider quitting was even greater - almost half (49 per cent) said problems with management was the factor most likely to mean they would think about leaving teaching behind.
‘Pressure on schools’
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the survey “reflects the pressure on schools” and called on the government to reform its accountability approach and increase funding.
“The reality is that school leadership teams have to meet onerous accountability targets with scarce resources and their workload is often enormous,” he said.
”[Leaders] endeavour to communicate and support staff as effectively as possible, but in such a busy and intense environment there is inevitably room for friction and misunderstandings,” he added.
“This is one of the reasons why it is important for the government to rethink its approach to accountability and ensure that all schools are sufficiently funded.”
The survey also revealed that poor pupil behaviour causes significant problems for teachers, with nearly one in five (18 per cent) saying it was the next most likely factor to force them to consider leaving.
However, it showed that teachers working in multi-academy trusts were more likely to struggle with behaviour - nearly a quarter (23 per cent) said it could force them to think about putting teaching behind them, compared to just 14 per cent of those in local authority funded community schools.
Meanwhile, 15 per cent said “shifting expectations on curriculum delivery” was more likely to spark a decision to leave.
Only nine per cent said they would “never leave teaching” before they reached retirement age.
Regional disparity
The survey also revealed a regional disparity in the factors most likely to force teachers to consider leaving the profession.
In the North West, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of teachers referenced pupil behaviour as a cause that would make them consider leaving the profession, eight percentage points higher than London and the South West.
However, the data also reveals teachers at schools rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted and those rated “requires improvement” or “inadequate” recorded similar levels of dissatisfaction with pupil conduct.
Dr Roach said that teachers cannot teach effectively when no action is taken to “tackle unacceptable and disruptive pupil behaviour”.
Dr Roach added that the government must do more to reassure teachers that they will be supported in maintaining order in the classroom.
“Action is also needed from the government to tackle adverse and bullying management practices in schools. No education system can deliver high-quality outcomes for pupils where teachers experience bullying at work,” he said.
Wellbeing is key to education recovery
Ms Peacock said school culture plays a “considerable” role in teacher development and retention, adding that research shows “enabling environments that strengthen teaching practice, in turn, strengthen the education of children and young people”.
She said schools must create a positive and inclusive environment that embraces “collegiality and collaboration.”
“Our headteachers and senior leaders need to be supported to create these environments for this to happen. The enormous pressure placed on our leadership teams means this can too often become an afterthought.
“Any form of education recovery will only occur if we provide the necessary support for teachers and leaders to flourish,” she added.
Dr Roach said: “The wellbeing of teachers is vital to securing the country’s education recovery. With nine out of 10 teachers suffering anxiety at work, it is clearly time for the government to recognise and take appropriate action to tackle the root causes of bullying and poor behaviour in our schools.”
Last week, a survey revealed that nine in 10 teachers felt their job had “adversely affected” their mental health.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“We are incredibly grateful for the efforts of teachers and school leaders over the course of the pandemic, supporting pupils through the challenges faced over the last two years.
“We are continuously engaging with the sector to collect information on teachers’ working hours and workload to improve our policies and interventions - like the DfE school workload reduction toolkit, which was developed alongside school leaders to help schools review and reduce staff workload.”
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