Your school is fully staffed for 2025. Phew. The problem is – who is going to resign first? Someone almost certainly will before the end of this term, and a couple more during the winter. Then there are some valuable people you thought might leave at the end of 2024, are they still looking for alternative employment? Teacher retention must be high on the list of priorities for any principal who believes that a stable staffroom is a major ingredient in a recipe for high achievement among the learners.

Research into teacher retention in the US and UK indicates that resignation among in-service teachers is at its highest in twenty years, and the worst rate of resignations is in urban schools serving disadvantaged learners. What can be done to stem the drain of experienced teachers from our staffrooms? UK research shows that post-Covid, 40% of teachers leave teaching before they have completed ten years of service.

UK and US research indicates significant areas where schools can implement better policies towards their staff. Urgent action should be considered by schools, SMTs, Boards and education departments who have the will to control expenditure on HR by stemming the exodus. I have some suggestions for you here.

1. Have an exit interview for all teachers who leave. Not with the Principal, but with someone empathetic who will listen to hard truths, and handle matters tactfully! That interview will give the school enough ammunition to address niggles and sometimes wider problems.
2. Examine the workload of teachers. UK researchers claim that teachers will settle for lower pay if the workload is controlled and the environment is better than average. A coat of paint and some minor repairs can save the school a lot of money, attention to people’s work-life balance, perhaps time off to attend their own children’s events or even flexible working hours can significantly reduce stress and burnout. Could verbal feedback reduce the marking load? Over 50% of UK teachers complain of unmanageable expectations in the post-COVID workplace, employers must adopt programs where less is more. Appreciation of those who go above and beyond is another vital ingredient in a recipe for top staff permanence.
3. Class size is more of an issue with less experienced teachers, but management needs to keep an eye on all class sizes. Where a large class is unavoidable, increase the resources available to the teacher, supply an intern to assist, and make sure the class knows that managers will take a particularly firm hand with disruptive behaviour in that class.
4. Mentoring of young teachers is often done grudgingly; induction of new teachers may be effectively absent. These neglected areas lead to resentment in staff who feel they were not supported when they took on a job at the school.
5. School management needs to be aware, and take supporting teachers far more seriously in the post-COVID world. That may mean that mentors’ and grade heads’ teaching loads are reduced to accommodate real attention to these duties. Lack of support by management is a major cause of resignations. One US teacher wrote “Some students are out of control, throwing chairs, overturning desks, climbing shelves. Others are just checked out. It’s like teaching in a war zone” Apparently, the school management hadn’t noticed. I have personally taken this sort of problem to the head of an independent urban school, and the Executive Head claimed he was unaware of the vandalism going on in his school.
6. Social, emotional and behavioural problems have increased among both learners and educators post-COVID, and our Universities do not prepare new graduates for this reality. Schools have to take action to support the mental well-being of staff in a highly stressful working environment. The school counsellor already has their hands full it’s time to bring in an external counsellor for staff monthly at the school’s expense, and for junior management staff to actively watch out for early indications of stress in the teachers who report to them.
7. Give teachers a voice, before school leaders take decisions, and listen to their feedback on those decisions. Principals must challenge Governing Bodies who want to take rash decisions that will impact teaching staff negatively.
8. Promote Collaboration among staff, both on curriculum and extramural activities. Management staff really can resist the temptation to micro-manage! Reward successful collaborations, insist on reports from unsuccessful ones.
9. Confront abuse, and abusers. Workplace safety is a major issue, and the school security guards are only part of the mix. Placements in Education receives at least half a dozen CVs per year from teachers who are being abused in the workplace. Sometimes it is by learners! Sometimes by parents, other staff members, management or even members of the governing body. I have had documented complaints about officials from provincial education departments, too! Make sure there is a way for teaching staff to report abuse, and that the matter is quickly addressed. When the member of staff feels management is dragging its feet on a matter that concerns them deeply they will not stay with the school and their emotional complaints can impact the school’s reputation in the community.
10. And finally, the matter that is usually discussed first when people talk about staff retention – teacher’s salaries. While State teachers’ salaries are unalterable, I am firmly of the belief that it is time to implement a remuneration package rather than separate salaries and benefits for other teaching staff. A Cost to Company package which the teacher can tailor to suit their circumstances means that teachers are comparing eggs with eggs when they compare offers from different schools. If we want teachers to be on time every day, then the package must include some form of medical assistance, logistical assistance with mortgages and loans to buy a car will save a lot of teachers’ time, a retention bonus (payable at the end of January) is an attractive perk; a reliable insurance broker who makes themselves available on the school campus regularly is a huge help for staff. But don’t lose sight of the fact that many of the other issues discussed here are more critical for teachers in the decision to go or stay than the salary (provided it is within reasonable norms) A long-term commitment to the school and the learners they have taught has always been one of the marks of a successful career teacher.

The Human Resources landscape has changed worldwide since the Covid pandemic. To run successful schools in a post-COVID world we need to adjust our expectations of and relationships with the staff we employ. The beginning of a new year is a good time to adjust our policies and bring in some changes.