Why is teacher retention important? 

Teacher retention means keeping teachers in their roles at school and avoiding a high staff turnover. Our 2026 Teacher Wellbeing Report found that 61% of teachers don't plan to stay in teaching long-term, and 54% of those plan to leave within 5 years.

This makes it more essential than ever for you to actively work towards retaining the teachers at your school, and to consider what might make them want to leave or stay at your setting. 

How does teacher retention affect students? 

Teacher retention is important for students and school leaders for a number of reasons, but importantly, it can have a significant impact on student outcomes. 

Teachers impact their students every day, and a high turnover of teachers is likely to result in an inconsistent and lower-quality teaching experience for your students. 

Retaining your teachers ensures consistent learning, which means an established routine and higher quality teaching, both of which improve academic outcomes for students. An established routine can be especially important for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), such as those with autism who might benefit from a familiar and consistent routine. 

Teacher retention also helps students and teachers build positive relationships, which in turn can improve outcomes by: 

• Supporting learning: consistent higher quality teaching improves academic performance 

• Improving behaviour: better behaviour in the classroom means a better learning environment for all students 

• Supporting safety and wellbeing: stronger relationships with teachers may make students feel safer to confide in if they’re experiencing safeguarding issues or facing wellbeing challenges, which improves outcomes and crucially, makes students safer 

Factors affecting teacher retention 

There are a range of factors that affect teacher retention, and every teacher is different. Common barriers to teacher retention include: 

• Workload and working hours 

• Stress and wellbeing 

• Lack of support from leadership 

• Behaviour in the classroom 

School leaders’ role in teacher retention

The factors that lead to teachers leaving your school may feel difficult to overcome, but it’s important to focus on what you can control – and school leaders have a big role in teacher retention.  

One of the primary ways you can improve teacher retention is by focusing on wellbeing. Good teacher wellbeing can improve student outcomes and equips teachers to better manage the demands and challenges of their job, reducing stress and making them more likely to stay at your school. 

Ensuring your teachers feel valued is key to staff retention – providing opportunities for professional development demonstrates to teachers that their growth matters to you. Similarly, prioritising your teachers’ wellbeing is fundamental in making your teachers feel they are a valued member of your school.

ÌÇÐÄVlog Wellbeing Report 2026

New insights into the pressures shaping teacher wellbeing in UK schools

Based on responses from 1,400+ UK school staff, the Teacher Wellbeing Report 2026 reveals what leaders need to understand about workload, SEND pressure, inclusion, support capacity and long-term retention.

Learn moreÌý