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Career progression in teaching:What’s driving UK educators?

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Career progression in teaching: What’s driving UK educators?

There are all too many stories at present about the apparent flood of teachers leaving the profession. Even The Guardian isn’t immune to publishing accounts. But is this really the true position?

A decade ago teaching was emerging from a crisis that had left schools short of teachers, and so challenging was the situation that headteachers were making appointments over the phone recruiting teachers from across the world. Reducing pupil numbers, especially in the secondary sector; the economic crisis that caused many former teachers to look to return to the profession; a reduction in the number of newly trained teachers; and better pay, especially for many of those at the top of the profession, then led to a period when schools often had the upper hand in making appointments, and many new teachers and returners found securing a teaching post challenging. Added to these factors were the new posts that emerged after schools were given responsibility for their own budgets. Classroom assistants and cover supervisors were just two of the new roles that were created in large numbers; even where these new entrants didn’t displace teachers, their roles often used cash that might have been spent creating additional teaching posts.

There are signs that all this is changing, however. Recruitment into teacher preparation courses was more challenging in 2013 than in 2012, with significant declines in the number of trainees in subjects such as design and technology, computer science, physics and modern languages, which all failed to recruit as many trainees as the government predicted were needed. Even some primary courses failed to fill all their places, although this may have more to do with the moving of the Skills Tests to pre-entry and the effect that had on students wanting to enter training through the clearing route. This means fewer job seekers in these subject this summer.

IntroductIon from John howson


At the same time as recruitment into training has become more of a challenge – and early evidence suggests that the 2014 round will be just as challenging as last year unless there are more applicants over the next few months – schools have increased their demand for teachers compared with a few years ago. The next two months will determine the level of demand for new teachers in September, but increased pupil numbers in the primary sector together with the increased Pupil Premium will undoubtedly mean some schools will be seeking extra staff. Vacancy rates are unlikely to fall compared with last year, and may even rise still further. Fortunately, the peak in the level of retirements has probably now passed as there are now fewer teachers approaching retirement age compared with a few years ago.

As the recruitment process in teaching is so closely based upon a market, with jobs advertised and candidates free to pick and choose where to apply, vacancies may be easier to fill in certain areas than others. London and parts of the Home Counties, where school rolls are rising, may struggle as they always have during periods of teacher shortage, not least because there are more alternative careers for graduates in London than elsewhere in the country.

Although the shortages of a decade ago are a matter of history their legacy does still affect schools, and will continue to do so for a number of years to come. In the years when new teachers were a scarce resource, there were fewer potential middle leaders a decade or so later. The challenge of finding middle leaders is a lasting legacy of the shortages that will continue as a result of the low numbers recruited in some years due to the cut in training targets. This is good news for those teachers looking for promotion, as the Guardian survey shows that many are.

Indeed, it is clear that teaching attracts and keeps those that like working with young people and are passionate about their subject. But, schools must ensure that teaching remains both interesting and stimulating with a satisfactory work-life balance. If these important considerations aren’t attended to then more teachers will leave the profession. Reducing wastage from the profession will be as vital as recruiting ever more new entrants.

Prof John Howson is managing director of DataforEducation.info, an Oxford based research company and an authority on the labour market for teachers.


Teaching is well recognised for being a vocational and rewarding career option, but it is not always aligned with talk of ambition and career development. Our study with the Guardian Teacher Network offered us the opportunity to look more closely at whether teachers are striving for career development, what the motivators are and what success looks like.

The survey highlights some interesting findings about how ambitious teachers are, how important career progression is and how keen they are to remain within teaching. This mirrors what we see in the teachers we meet on a daily basis. Over the past year we have seen an increase in applications for teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) and assistant head vacancies particularly within the secondary sector, more candidates looking for new roles with the aim of securing a more senior position and a number of candidates who are being very specific about the continuous professional development (CPD) offering of any schools they apply to.

The schools we work with are responding to this by ensuring that they promote career opportunities when they recruit and that the jobs are positioned to attract the interest of the best teachers. They are making it clear what CPD they offer and ensuring that candidates are aware of what the career path is. But given that recruitment can be a challenge, particularly in some areas like maths, English and senior leadership positions, there is still work to be done and we would like to see more teachers aspiring to a senior role in school.

To achieve this, we need to ensure that these positions are seen as attractive and that the support structures are in place to help candidates develop the skills and experience needed. This will ensure that ambitious teachers can reach their potential.

Paul Matthias, National Specialist Director at Hays Education.

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Having had more than 2,000 responses, I believe the findings of this survey tell a really interesting and under-explored story of ambition and progression in the teaching profession. To echo John Howson’s thoughts, the current narrative around careers in teaching is fixated on those leaving. But with this research we wanted to put the focus back on those who are staying put, giving back and eager to get on.

As a community site, the Guardian Teacher Network has a deep and first-hand insight into the working lives of teachers. Via guest blog posts, online debates, infinite exchanges on social media and face-to-face meetings, we hear about the ideas, innovations, best practice and frustrations of the job everyday. Through this survey we’ve opened up the debate further: what does ambition and career progression look like in schools, and what’s driving teachers and leaders in our schools?

We found out, for example, about the extent to which teachers are keen to move up, and have a strong preference for internal promotions, but don’t feel there are always enough opportunities to do so. We saw that of those who have changed career into teaching, the majority came from financial services. On the site it will be interesting to explore how that skill set has shaped the profession and schools. But the key findings and messages here are around what drives teachers’ job satisfaction – in the top two were working with young people and interesting stimulating work – the foundations to happy, motivated teachers.

Kerry Eustice, head of education and society networks, The Guardian

from the GuardIan teacher networK

Attitudes towards a career in teaching

78%OF TEACHERSENJOY THEIR

JOB

35%WOULDN’T LEAVE

TEACHING FORANOTHER

PROFESSION

62%1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

FEEL SECURE INTHEIR JOB

45%HAVE ALWAYS

WANTED TO BEA TEACHER

45%SEE TEACHINGAS A CAREER

OF CHOICE

HAVEREMAINED

IN SAME POSITIONFOR 11 - 19 YEARS

11%

Attitudes towards a career in teaching

Most teachers are happy with their career choice – 78.3% of teachers enjoy their job, compared with 9.1% who do not. Most also feel secure in their position, 61.5% do not fear redundancy. Some 44.5% agree that teaching is seen as a career of choice.

Despite media reports suggesting that a flood of teachers are leaving the profession, 35.3% strongly disagree that they would leave teaching for another career. The majority (38.7%) of teaching professionals have been in their current position for up to two years, while a quarter (26.6%) have been in the same job for 3-5 years. 10.9% have remained in the same position for 11-19 years.

Almost half (45%) of respondents say they have always wanted to be a teacher – for many (43.6%) education was their first career choice. Of those who moved to teaching as a later career choice, the largest proportion (12.9%) came from finance and accounting. 9.2% came from hospitality, while 7.7% came from either arts and heritage, government and politics or healthcare.

Career changers: teaching as a second career

“I was working in the finance sector, it paid well and had great conditions, but it wasn’t a very fulfilling job. After a while that starts to get to you – I was in management consultancy and had a feeling that I was doing something slightly parasitic. I thought that teaching would be a more interesting and worthwhile career choice so went to study a PGCE.

When I first went into teaching I was at the bottom of the pay scale and couldn’t afford a mortgage, so I went back to finance for a couple of years and then returned to teaching once I had some savings.

I chose teaching because I didn’t want to work in an office environment. My father was a headteacher and my brother and sister-in-law are teachers, so I knew about the job vicariously. My father had always warned me off teaching because of the workload. Looking back I can see what he meant: the amount that you’re expected to do is insane. You have all the accountability but none of the power.

But teaching is a very fun job – there’s always a vibrant atmosphere. You’re on your feet all the time so the day never drags. And you’re dealing with young people, who are very funny – they keep me entertained.”

Penny Evans, head of business and economics at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls in Birmingham

Plans for progression

OPPORTUNITYFOR

PROGRESSION

33%OPEN TO

TEACHINGOVERSEAS

WOULD PREFERAN INTERNALPROMOTION

52%

20%AIM FOR PROMOTIONS

EVERY 3 YEARS

55%WOULD MOVESCHOOL TOCLIMB CAREERLADDER

ASPIRE TOBECOME A

HEADTEACHER

11%

Plans for progressionSome 39.7% of teachers believe their job provides good opportunities for career progression, but more than half (55%) agree that they would need to move school to climb the career ladder. However, 52.1% would prefer to get an internal promotion than move elsewhere.

Finding a role that meets career ambitions is cited as the biggest challenge teaching professionals face when moving schools by 23.9% of teaching professionals. Age and difficulties locating an opportunity in the right location are also identified as problems by 18.6% and 18.5% of respondents respectively. Older people (those aged 45+) are most likely to cite age as a barrier to finding work, while location matters most for those aged 26-45. Competition for jobs is a particular difficulty for those aged 21-25.

School type can also have a big influence on teachers’ career decisions – 28% of respondents strongly disagree that they would be open to working in a free school, while 19.6% strongly disagree that they would be open to working in an academy.

For 31.9% of teachers, having a senior role in school is important – 19.6% aim for regular promotions every three years, with younger teachers (aged 21-35) most likely to be seeking a new job.

Around a third (32.4%) of teachers would like to join the senior leadership team at their school, while almost half (46.5%) would not. Fewer teachers are keen to take a headship: just 11.3% strongly agree that they aspire to become a headteacher or principal – just over half (51.1%) do not wish to do so.

In terms of CPD, 46.3% agree that their career offers good opportunities, with 32.3% agreeing that CPD opportunities are available at their school.

A third (33.2%) of respondents say they are open to teaching career opportunities overseas, while 56.3% are interested in new and emerging roles developing in the education sector. 38.4% say they would like to take their education expertise into a new industry.

Talent flow: is it best to keep teachers moving?

“I progressed through both internal promotion and a bit of moving. I was at my first school for nearly 10 years. I didn’t really need to move because I’d had those opportunities within the school. After doing my trainee placement there and joining as an NQT, I eventually was given responsibility for looking after other trainees, and then put on a pedagogy focus team within senior leadership.

Being promoted internally was a positive experience. Because everyone knew me well, the school knew what it was getting – not just in terms of the quality of my teaching but also the extra-curricular stuff that I do and my character. The advantage for me was the reverse: I knew exactly what I was getting into with each of the promotions I was given. I understood the set up of the school and what would be required of me.

In comparison, when I took my first job in Bath after moving house, I didn’t stay very long. On paper it looked like a great first assistant head post: it was an outstanding girls’ school and so on. But it turned out that the leadership was terrible, something which has since been reported on in the local news. I didn’t know what I was getting into at the time, and it was quite a negative experience.

Saying that, there are advantages to moving schools. It meant that I could reinvent myself, for example, and at my current school, I have benefitted from learning about how schools do things differently. There are also difficulties in getting internal promotions; you may have to challenge and line manage some of the people that you were good friends with.”

Eugene Spiers is assistant headteacher at a school in Bath.

Career success and job satisfaction

SALARY WASN’T THEREASON FOR JOINING

THE PROFESSION

72%

89%FIND WORKING WITHYOUNG PEOPLE THEMOST REWARDING

50%DISAGREE THAT

THEY WEREATTRACTED TOTHE HOLIDAYS

Career success and job satisfaction

When asked which factors were vital for job satisfaction, high-achieving students, interesting and stimulating work and work-life balance are each rated most important by the majority of teachers – 59.1%, 57.1% and 47.9% respectively. Being rated outstanding is cited as least important for teachers’ job satisfaction – only 32.1% rate this highest.

The majority of teachers say it was not holiday allowance and salaries that attracted them to teaching – 71.6% disagree that they joined the profession because of the salary, while 50.2% disagree that they were attracted by the holidays. Women are less likely than men to cite salary as important.

Having a job that is interesting and stimulating is overwhelmingly the most important factor for teachers’ job satisfaction – 68.9% strongly agree that this is important, while only 4.1% do not believe it to be. Working with young people is also listed by 89.2% of respondents as the most rewarding part of teaching, while 72% strongly agree or agree that their passion for their subject is the best thing about their job.

Teachers value their colleague judgements more highly than Ofsted’s – 84.2% believe it is important to be recognised by colleagues and managers as an excellent teacher, yet only 46.4% believe it is important to be recognised by Ofsted as outstanding.

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