Rate of New Teachers Leaving the Profession Reaches Record Level in Scotland
The rate of early-career teachers leaving the profession within their first five years has reached a record level in Scotland. According to the data, 408 teachers left the profession in 2025 within five years of entering it. This was the highest figure recorded since comparable data began to be kept in 2018. While 183 teachers left the profession within their first five years in 2018, a total of 2,081 teachers left teaching at an early stage of their careers between 2018 and 2025.
Education leaders warn that retaining teachers has become one of the most important challenges for the school system. The high attrition rate among new teachers also increases costs for schools and local authorities, as filling vacant positions and supporting the professional development of new teachers require additional resources.
The data also point to a “mismatch” in teacher training and employment planning. Accordingly, more graduates are entering the system in primary teaching than there are available posts, while teacher shortages continue in many secondary subject areas. Willie Rennie, education spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said that training a teacher is costly and that it is concerning to see record numbers of new teachers leaving the profession so quickly. Rennie stated that the mismatch between student numbers and available jobs, along with broader pressures facing the profession, is reinforcing this trend.
The Liberal Democrats argue that it should be made easier for teachers to move between the primary and secondary sectors. Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth had also previously stated that creative ways should be found to encourage more primary teachers to move into secondary roles in order to ease teacher shortages.