Government should set a recruitment target for women headteachers, give teachers priority for childcare places and provide back-to-school coaching to end the “motherhood penalty”.
The proposals have been drawn up by think tank The New Britain Project and the charity the MTPT Project charity to boost retention in England’s schools by ensuring fewer women are driven out of the profession.
In a report published today, they argued the government’s “top priority” to stem the tide should keeping hold of female teachers in their 30s – as they are the “largest group exiting the profession each year”.
“Prioritising their retention will cause a pivotal shift, ensuring that more experienced teachers remain in the profession,” the report states. “This will help stabilise the workforce… and ultimately break the cycle of unsustainable levels of teacher attrition.”
Overall, the total target for recruitment to teacher training for both primary and secondary was missed by 38 per cent in 2023-24. And last year 9,147 women between 30 and 39 left their jobs, more than any other demographic.
Here are the researchers’ plans to combat the problem…
1. Back-to-work coaching for mums
Of 383 women who left teaching in their 30s, 27 per cent told the researchers that better support after maternity leave to help them back into work could have helped them stay in the profession.
The report called for a pilot of “a comprehensive coaching programme for mothers during, and post-, maternity leave” to be launched. By 2030, the “offer should be available to all” mums at £1,500 per head.
To aid this, training should be offered to line managers and senior leaders “ensuring that they are aware of their legal duties and the best practice” to support their return.
The course, which would cost an average of £250 per school, should be “automatically” covered by the government, the report added.
“Coaching is not a silver bullet… But coaching is one of the most effective tools to support returning parents exactly because it does not offer fixed answers or directives in the same way that expert-led training… does.”
2. Give teachers priority for childcare places
Labour committed during the general election campaign to open 3,000 nurseries based in schools over the next parliament.
The New Britain Project and MTPT want the government to ensure the children teachers and early years staff are given priority in the nurseries’ admission codes.
They also want schools to do the same for all teachers, leaders or support staff members in their local authority areas.
“These priority places should also extend to wraparound care to support teachers to balance childcare commitments with the logistics and timings of the school day,” they added.
Forty-two per cent of women leavers surveyed this year listed “childcare logistics” as the principal reason behind their decision to quit teaching. When asked what might have helped them in the classroom, 37 per cent answered “access to on-site childcare”.
According to analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research, 54 per cent of teachers in the state sector between 30 and 34 had a child under 19. The figure rose to 75 per cent for those in the 35 to 39 age bracket.
3. Give teachers 26 weeks of paid maternity leave
The burgundy book, which sets out the conditions of service for schoolteachers in England, says those going on maternity leave are entitled to four weeks full pay.
For a fortnight they receive 90 per cent of their usual earnings, before being put onto half pay for three months and statutory wages thereafter.
The report argued for the terms to be updated to “match the 26 weeks of fully paid parental leave enjoyed” by DfE staff.
“Current shared parental leave and maternity leave policies in the UK often reinforce traditional social norms in parenting, placing a disproportionate burden on mothers that persists once they re-enter the workforce.
“While we recognize that this change will be gradual… our ultimate goal is for all schools to offer equal parental leave.”
4. Commit to target for women heads
According to analysis produced by MTPT and The New Britain Project, men are twice as likely to move into headteacher roles in both primary and secondary schools.
Despite this, females account for 85 per cent of primary teaching roles and 63 per cent of secondary jobs.
To address this imbalance, the researchers believe “we need an additional 2,639” women heads.
By committing to the “bold” target and “openly acknowledging this issue”, the study argued, the DfE “will spark the crucial conversations needed to begin to address and rectify” this.
“These goals, though not enforceable targets, will serve as essential benchmarks to measure progress and highlight the importance of gender balance.”
5. Flexible working champions in schools
Almost 70 per cent of women leavers also stated that “more timetable flexibility”, allowing them to start or end their days early, may have enticed them to stay.
The report calls for so-called “flexible working champions” to be introduced across 1,000 schools by the end of this parliament. It said “meaningful change is unlikely” without dedicated personnel.
“Flexible working is also still used as a way to enable women to meet the expectation to take on the majority of domestic and caring responsibilities in our societies, as well as balance demanding careers, without this same expectation placed on men.
“If flexible working is to be used to address the motherhood penalty highlighted in this report, we need to see equal rates of uptake amongst men as amongst women.”
6. CPD courses to boost flexible timetabling skills
Examples of flexible working in schools include “writing 1.5 flexible days into teachers’ contracts”, adopting a “nine-day fortnight” or scheduling form time in the middle of the day “to accommodate late starts”.
The report noted there are “numerous successful case studies”, but information on what’s being done is “incomplete and inconsistent”.
It urged the DfE to require “all timetabling software providers in the UK to sign up to uniform data standards”. This would help “build a comprehensive knowledge base of best practices and innovations in flexible working and workload management”.
The development of an accredited CPD course focused on “timetabling, strategic planning, and fostering a supportive school culture” would equip staff with the skills to “create a more flexible and enduring teaching career”.
