The staying power: a look at the teacher retention crisis and how we’re helping

Teacher retention in schools has been an issue at the forefront of education in recent years. In 2023-24, 1 in 11 qualified teachers had left the English state school system. 91% were for reasons other than retirement.

Our work has involved keeping our ear to the ground, understanding the drivers behind it, and offering practical solutions.

Articles / 3 mins read

A toolkit for school leaders

To ensure headteachers and school leaders are best equipped to create a workplace that thrives this academic year, we have created a Retention Toolkit, setting out the key drivers of a healthy workplace.

Our toolkit takes strong evidence-based research from De Neve’s ‘Work Wellbeing Playbook’ and composes and contextualises its findings into a comprehensive guide for School Leaders.

“As headteachers and leaders, we often walk with our heads down because we’re so busy. I talk about let’s look up and out – when we do – we ensure we’re not missing anyone in the corridors”
Evelyn Forde MBE

The culture staff work in every day makes a difference to protecting mental health. An environment where people can thrive keeps teachers in the profession, and it shows colleagues that their wellbeing matters. Part of that is inclusion. Noticing who might be struggling, and making sure nobody slips by unseen, is one of the simplest things a leader can do.

If you are interested in finding out more please go to our Cultures that care: a retention toolkit for schools,

We would love to hear your stories about how you have supported retention in your workplace or get some feedback.

“Wellbeing is something that you protect rather than repair – securing an environment in which wellbeing is inherently part of the culture of the organisation is through the values that we seek in those we recruit”
Simon, headteacher

If you are interested in finding out more please go to our Cultures that care: a retention toolkit for schools,

We would love to hear your stories about how you have supported retention in your workplace or get some feedback.

Why toolkits are not enough

We know it won't be solved by toolkits and webinars alone. Systemic change is also needed to keep teachers in the profession. According to our ‘Revisiting the Teacher Retention Crisis: Recommendations for Change’ report, in 2023/24 more than 37,000 teachers left for reasons other than retirement in England. Training them had cost over £1bn. Add the price of recruitment and covering their replacements, and the annual cost of attrition rises above £1.5bn.

The cost isn't only financial. Higher turnover affects teaching quality, productivity, and social equity within schools, and hits pupils in the most deprived communities hardest.

As schools address this sector wide issue, we wanted to share some of the ways we’ve campaigned in recent years for Governments across the UK to focus on improving teacher retention:

We turn our research into policy pressure. Our Teacher Wellbeing Index and 2025 retention research report give us the evidence base to argue for change, and we use it in government inquiries and consultations, from the recent Schools White Paper inquiry in England to the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s inquiry into teacher recruitment and retention inquiry in Wales last year.

It's making a difference. Our evidence to the Senedd's inquiry on teacher recruitment and retention was referenced 38 times in its final report earlier this year.

We bring teachers' voices into the room. We've run campaigns encouraging supporters to write to their MP about their own experience of working in education, and we host events that put politicians, educators and education experts around the same table.

Keeping teachers in the profession involves every level and we’ll keep working to deliver change across the system.