Nearly a third of teachers who qualified in the past ten years have since left the profession, according to an analysis by the Labour party, The Guardian reports.
According to a Labour analysis of Department for Education statistics, of just under 270,000 teachers who qualified in England between 2011 and 2020, more than 81,000 have since left the profession.
More recently, 13 per cent of teachers in England who have qualified since the last general election in December 2019 quit in the subsequent two years, about 3,000 in total.
Labour publicised the figures as it pushed for a new Commons select committee to be set up to look at the issue of VAT on independent school fees.
The party wants to use an opposition day on Wednesday (Jan 11) to pass a motion – intended to be binding – that would set up the new panel.
The news on teachers quitting the profession comes as three teaching unions in England and Wales are balloting on strike action, with the results due soon. The ASCL school leaders’ union recently held a consultative ballot over strike action, with seven out of ten voting for a formal ballot.
While ostensibly over pay, the proposed strikes are against a background of rising dissatisfaction over staff shortages, workload and stress..
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said: “This dangerous exodus of new teaching recruits could result in even greater teacher vacancies in years to come and ultimately to lower standards in our schools.
“A decade of Conservative neglect of our schools is already forcing experienced teachers from the classroom – for more recently qualified teachers to be leaving the profession is a worrying double whammy.
“Labour believes excellence is for everyone: that is why we will end tax breaks for private schools and use the money to recruit 6,500 new teachers as part of our national excellence programme.”
