Headteacher Update: retention and workload tips
- Headteacher Update’s March 4 podcast put teacher retention at the center, with Generate Teaching Hub’s Deb Sharples joining a panel on keeping staff. - The episode said more than 114,000 teachers left for reasons other than retirement in the past three years, focusing on early-career support. - Workload and wellbeing pressures remain central to England’s retention problem. (gov.uk)
Headteacher Update’s March 4 episode focused on one question facing English primary schools: how to keep teachers from leaving, especially early-career staff. (headteacher-update.com) The podcast framed the issue against a stark number: more than 114,000 teachers in England left teaching for reasons other than retirement over the previous three years. (ivoox.com) (podcastaddict.com) Generate Teaching Hub said its head, Deb Sharples, joined the panel and that the discussion centered on creating “a sense of belonging” so teachers want to stay in the profession. (generateteachinghub.org) The advice was practical rather than policy-heavy: build trust, support career progression, use continuing professional development carefully, and tackle workload that pulls teachers away from classroom practice. (generateteachinghub.org) (headteacher-update.com) That focus matches broader evidence from England’s school system. The Department for Education’s Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders study says workload, wellbeing, pupil behaviour and flexible working all shape whether teachers stay. (gov.uk) Official retention data published by the Department for Education in June 2025 tracks the share of teachers still working in state-funded schools years after gaining qualified teacher status. (gov.uk) Pressure on staff has also shown up in wellbeing surveys. Education Support’s 2025 index said 77% of education staff experienced symptoms of poor mental health due to work, while 36% were at risk of probable clinical depression. (educationsupport.org.uk) (chartered.college) Headteacher Update pitches the series at primary senior and middle leaders, and says new episodes come out monthly or half-termly depending on platform listing. (headteacher-update.com) (podcastaddict.com) In this episode, the message was narrower: schools do not solve retention only with recruitment. They also keep teachers by cutting avoidable strain and giving newer staff support they can actually use. (headteacher-update.com) (generateteachinghub.org)
