Teacher retention rate in England 2010-2022

An estimated 88.7 percent of teachers in England who qualified in 2022 were still teaching at schools one year after receiving their teaching qualification. By comparison, 86.4 percent of teachers who qualified in 2010 were still teaching a year after qualifying, with 70.8 percent of 2010 qualifiers still teaching five years later. 

Teacher supply

Teacher retention has been an ongoing issue for schools in England due to various factors. While then number of qualified teachers has remained relatively steady between 2015 and 2023, it has not been enough to keep pace with the rising number of pupils in state schools. Additionally, teachers are working more hours on average to cope with a rising workload. Stagnant pay may also be a contributing factor to declining teacher retention, with average primary teacher starting salaries in England falling well behind many of its European neighbors.

Teacher strikes

National strikes took place in the UK on throughout 2022 and 2023, with members of four teachers unions taking industrial action. This strike action was related to teacher pay amid an ongoing cost of living crisis. Most state-school teachers in England and Wales had a five percent pay rise in 2022, but unions argue that with inflation exceeding ten percent that year, teachers were having to take real-terms pay cuts. The government was initially reluctant to negotiate with unions due to a squeeze on government finances and strike action across many sectors in the UK. By July 2023, however, a deal with the government was reached for the 2023/24 academic, whereby teachers would receive a 6.5 percent pay rise.