Teachers quitting in droves amid rising stress and abuse in schools

The teaching profession is facing a crisis, with over 43,500 teachers leaving their roles last year, equating to one in ten of all teaching staff. The Department for Education's statistics reveal that more than a quarter of state school teachers abandon their jobs within their first three years. The alarming trend is attributed to various factors, including stress, abuse from students, and stagnant pay, which has been significantly devalued by inflation. In November of the previous year, 5,292 teachers from a cohort of 20,431 who entered the profession three years earlier had already left, marking the highest exit rate in two decades. Each week, around 800 teachers quit, with 100 of them being less than three years into their careers. The situation has been exacerbated by increased child poverty and a lack of mental health support services, which have placed additional burdens on schools. Teachers have expressed their frustrations, with incidents of physical abuse reported, as seen in the strike at Pencoedtre High School in South Wales, where educators claimed they were treated like 'punchbags' by students. The National Education Union has highlighted that the current salaries for teachers are worth a third less in real terms compared to 2010, further discouraging retention in the profession. In response to the crisis, the government has pledged to hire 6,500 new teachers, funded by taxing private school fees. However, experts warn that the focus of teaching has shifted from education to addressing social and mental health issues, indicating a need for systemic change in the education sector.