The UK Teaching Crisis: Two New Tactics Being Deployed

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At the beginning of May the UK marked its support for the teaching community with national teacher appreciation day, a day dedicated to sharing affection, both online and offline for the role that teachers undertake in society.

 

Conversely in the subsequent weeks, newspapers have been rife with stories of a growing crisis in the industry. Between unmanageable workloads, growing class sizes or an inability to recruit qualified staff, it is difficult to see how sincere or heartfelt this appreciation really is.

Crisis

The sense of crisis is supported by some recent stats. The department of education outlined that just under 40,000 teachers quit the profession in 2016, representing around 9% of the workforce. These departures have not been offset by a highly publicised recruiting drive, as there remains a shortfall of 30,000.

This shortfall results in a negative knock on effect for the schools. Less teachers results in classes being combined. These larger classes result in inefficient lessons as teachers struggle to control and inspire students, which in turn can put a bigger strain on the teacher’s wellbeing. 

Wellness

Evidence suggest that teachers are struggling to cope, as research conducted by the Liberal Democrats outlined that 3,750 teachers were required to take extended absence due to pressure of work or mental illnesses - roughly equating to one in 83 teachers who spent more than a month off work.

However, these numbers do not indicate how many of the 40,000 teachers who left the profession were forced out due to absences, or who were compelled to instruct settlement agreement solicitors to negotiate an exit due to long-term mental illnesses, or simply quit due to health grounds.

Sabbaticals

Consequentially, school and national leadership has been attempting to stem this flow of teachers out of the industry. While many of the efforts are focused around helping to support newly qualified teachers during the difficult transition, some have been directed towards the longer serving members.

A sabbatical scheme has recently been announced by the Department of Education to reward teachers with over ten years of service with the chance to take between a term and a year away from the classroom. The aim is to make the prospect of staying in the industry long-term more attractive, while allowing teachers to refresh or explore other interests.

The scheme is part of a greater push by the government to introduce or put teaching on par with other industries where more flexible working practices have proven to have positive results.

Teleporting

The industry has also been exploring some new-age methods to reduce to burden of departing teachers. Virtual Reality technology is being tested to teleport teachers into classrooms across England. This technology allows students to interact in a 360-degree learning environment with computer generated tools.

The concerns with this form of teaching will be the dropout rates associated with online learning. Studies have shown that often between 40 and 80 percent of students fail to complete the course due to inadequate personal attention from the teacher conducting the lesson. It is hoped that a classroom assistant and the advancement of the technology will improve engagement.

However, schools will be interested by this development as it does not require teachers to be employed from within a local catchment area and could potentially lead to other industry experts guest teaching.

Future

With each passing year, it is becoming clear that there is growing concern for the state of the teaching industry. Local and national authorities have been diligently attempting to address and improve the situation. It is hoped that these new schemes can help stem the tide of departures and work-related problems that teachers face.