Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

After all, if anybody wants to ask His Majesty’s Treasury to spend money on anything (especially in our currently tight financial circumstances), it is important to be able to demonstrate impact for investment. So, spending is focused on interventions underpinned by clear evidence of what works, to draw a clear line of sight from the money being spent to the outcomes you are likely to achieve. Alas, the world is seldom this simple, and there are two key risks in an approach that fails to respond responsively and more sophisticatedly to the investment and structures supporting professional development in schools: agency and relevance. Agency In 2020, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) looked at the factors most likely to impact the job satisfaction of teachers, using that as a way of considering how to improve retention (something that has continued to get worse in recent years). That study showed that teachers in England have less autonomy by some margin than those working in other comparable professions, and compared to their peers internationally. Crucially, it also showed that autonomy is closely related to job satisfaction and retention, and that teacher autonomy over professional development goals was most associated with higher job satisfaction. This evidence seems to run counter to the ‘golden thread’ approach over recent years, which has decreased the autonomy teachers and school leaders have over their CPD. The drive to create a coherent structure – ITT-ECF-NPQs – has come at the expense of choice and variety in the system. Even within the structure itself, we have seen a decline in the number of providers offering training and qualifications, further restricting choice. School spending on CPD has also plummeted, meaning even less agency for teachers and school leaders. Relevance We have all been on a course, seen a lecture, or listened to a podcast and come away disappointed that it did not resonate with our own challenges… then, inevitably, we have all spoken to a colleague who has experienced the same thing and is energised by the training that left us completely cold. This is because teaching and school leadership are complex jobs, deeply dependent on context for success, and ‘one-size-fits- all’ approaches cannot respond to that. Any attempt to codify evidence into an acceptable list is necessarily The behaviour bullet It starts with a slammed door. Raised voices. Maybe a chair scraping across the floor. Every teacher has their own trigger. Some moments are so frequent they become background noise. But over time, constant disruptions from pupils and inconsistent rule-keeping among colleagues can grind down even the most dedicated teacher. At Teacher Tapp, we’ve been asking teachers about behaviour for years, and the results are clear: poor behaviour doesn’t just disrupt lessons—it drives teachers out of schools. Reports of lesson disruption are now at their highest levels since our surveys began. Nearly every teacher said their last lesson was interrupted in some way. Worse still, 45 per cent said learning stopped altogether at some point due to behaviour, and for 12 per cent, the disruption dragged on for ten minutes or more. The picture is especially grim in primary schools, where 47 per cent of teachers report regular disruption compared to 38 per cent in secondary. And in schools serving disadvantaged communities, the situation is even tougher, with up to 80 per cent saying they faced disruption in their last lesson. Here’s where it gets tricky, though. Every school claims to have a behaviour policy, but how many enforce it consistently? This year, just 14 per cent of primary teachers and a shocking five per cent of secondary teachers said their colleagues apply the rules fairly. It’s no wonder teachers are frustrated. Does this matter for retention? Teachers say yes. When asked what their school could do to keep them next year, improving behaviour was the top answer. It’s easy to see why. Our recent Behaviour Barometer report ( tinyurl.com/tp-BehaviourBarometer ) showed that poor behaviour has a significant effect on teachers’ workload, stress levels, and feelings of value in their jobs. In fact, after analysing years of data, our conclusion was stark: improving behaviour is about as close as you can get to a silver bullet for teacher retention. So, how do you fix it? Teachers overwhelmingly agree on three things: clear rules, consistency in applying them, and a collective effort from all staff. However, opinions differ as to what the rules should be. Some favour tougher sanctions, while others prefer a collaborative approach. The loudest call is for strong leadership and a school-wide commitment to making rules stick. It’s not just a job for leaders, though. Most teachers see managing behaviour as part of their role and admit they could improve in this area. When leaders reinforce this collective responsibility while offering practical support and training, things can improve. But if leaders ignore the problem or downplay it (perhaps because they experience better behaviour than their staff do), the exodus will continue. And the sound of that slamming door might not just be a disruptive pupil – it could be another teacher walking out for good. Laura McInerney is an education journalist, public speaker, and co-founder of Teacher Tapp. @TeacherTapp teachertapp.com 44 | www.teachwire.net