Teacher Crisis Deepens in England
The education sector in England faces the prospect of tens of thousands of teachers leaving the profession within the next two years. A survey conducted by Kahoot, involving 1,782 teachers, found that 9 per cent of respondents considered it “very likely” they would leave their job within the next 24 months. A further 37 per cent described their workload as “excessive” or “unsustainable”, while only 22 per cent said it was manageable. With 468,258 teachers currently working across England, these figures suggest that around 42,000 could leave the profession.
The survey also highlighted key challenges within classrooms. More than one-third of teachers cited shortened attention spans, attributed to smartphone and social media use, as the biggest barrier to engaging students. Meanwhile, 21 per cent pointed to overcrowded classrooms as the most pressing issue. Sean D’Arcy from Kahoot warned that the existing teacher shortage could worsen, leading to larger class sizes and further pressure on the system.
The Department for Education has responded with a more optimistic outlook. According to the department, the proportion of teachers leaving the profession last year was among the lowest since 2010. In addition, 2,300 extra secondary school and special education teachers have been recruited this year. The department also noted that teacher pay has increased by a total of 10 per cent over the past two years, alongside a range of measures aimed at tackling high workloads and improving teacher wellbeing.