So we are promised a changed Ofsted from September 2025, perhaps schools can also have a look at changing their approach towards staff relationships.
From our experiences recruiting teaching staff into schools, we have a look at why teachers are leaving the profession and what could really make a different to the educator shortage in the UK.
Teacher Burnout or Weak Staff Relationships?
Teacher burnout is repeatedly cited in the media as the reason why teachers are leaving the profession. Unhappy educators often mention workload and stress in teaching but this is always coupled with the lack of meaningful relationships with colleagues and senior management.
Teaching is an incredibly demanding job that requires long hours, emotional resilience, and adaptability. Many teachers find themselves overwhelmed by excessive workloads.
But the emotional toll of managing classrooms, addressing student needs, and dealing with behavioural issues is much better managed when educators don’t feel they are on their own.
Teachers and teaching assistants will often tell us that whilst the job is challenging, they have wonderful relationships with their colleagues. Whilst those relationships hold strong, there are no complaints about workload.
Only when there is a breakdown between those relationships does the dissatisfaction surface and they talk of the stress in teaching.
This is consistent with research conducted last year by TEP, which found that teaching staff that were disengaged with management were twice as likely to leave their job during the course of the year.
Lack of Respect and Appreciation
On top of a lack of respect from management, teachers often feel undervalued and unappreciated by society, policymakers, and even parents.
Public discourse often undermines their expertise and dedication, making it difficult for them to stay motivated in their roles.
When educators feel disrespected and unsupported, they are more likely to seek professions where their skills are more recognised and valued.
Another reason why teachers are leaving the profession and exacerbing the educator shortage, which can be easily fixed without excessive spending.
Unfair Accountability and Overemphasis on Test Scores
Overemphasis on standardised testing has made teaching more rigid and less fulfilling.
Many teachers feel constrained by strict curricula and assessment-driven instruction, limiting their ability to be creative and responsive to student needs.
This shift has led to dissatisfaction among educators who entered the profession to inspire and engage students and worsens the stress in teaching.
What can be done to solve the Educator Shortage?
Promisingly, the new Ofsted Inspection Framework for 2025 suggests a new approach with much wider reporting via School Report Cards. This is coupled with an assurance from Sir Martyn Oliver that Ofsted will look to inspect schools in context of the local demographics and student characteristics.
However, to retain teachers and make the profession more appealing other systemic changes are needed.
“Increase salaries” and “reduce workloads” is the usual rhetoric from unions and the media. But there are changes that can be made at school level with the resources already available to stop teachers leaving the profession
Fostering a culture of respect and appreciation for educators both inside and outside of school can alleviate some of the stress in teaching and make the profession a more sustainable career choice helping to solve the educator shortage.
We have found that complaints of teacher burnout are less likely in a supportive environment, even where there is a heavy workload.
