As the 31 October resignation deadline approaches, schools face losing valued colleagues. Some staff will pursue new opportunities or progress in their careers.
Others may leave a profession they love, not because their commitment has wavered but because professional expectations and have become increasingly difficult to reconcile.
Times are changing, and schools must evolve with them. This means creative thinking, flexibility and a willingness to challenge established practices. What if we could prevent talented teachers from leaving our schools by rethinking how we support them?
The Department for Education’s 2025 found that 29 per cent of respondents were considering leaving England’s state school sector within a year, while NASUWT’s 2025 found that 67 per cent of respondents had considered leaving teaching.
The National Foundation for Educational Research’s says that 90 per cent of teachers who were seriously considering leaving cited workload as a factor.
Schools face extraordinary pressures. Stretched budgets, and increasingly mean that even the most compassionate leaders cannot accommodate every request.
Yet recognising what schools cannot change should not prevent us from exploring what they can. Sometimes solutions require neither sweeping reform nor substantial investment, but understanding and innovation.
Here are five possibilities that could be considered.
Strategies for teacher retention
1. Start conversations before resignation emails arrive
Introduce open “stay conversations” to help identify concerns before they become the very reasons why people leave.
Ask colleagues what they value, what issues they are facing and what practical adaptations might make their lives more manageable. Critically reflect on the feedback, and show what action has been taken.
The identifies supportive leadership and working conditions as positive approaches to retention. Even modest adjustments demonstrate that staff voice really matters.
2. Recognise that modern lives need modern flexibility
Many teachers are raising children while caring for ageing parents; others are parenting alone or managing responsibilities without a partner or wider support network. Not everyone has a proverbial “village” to draw on.
After years of juggling competing demands, a seemingly small incident can become the final straw: being refused permission to attend a child’s nativity or sports day, missing a close friend’s wedding or being unable to attend an extended family member’s funeral. These moments carry profound personal significance.
Could duties be exchanged, planning time rearranged or temporary flexibility explored, perhaps? The found that flexible working arrangements increased from 40 per cent in 2022 to 51 per cent in 2025, so progress is being made.
Fairness and operational realities matter, but compassion and creativity need not be mutually exclusive.
3. Remove unnecessary workload, not professional ambition
Teachers enter the profession to educate, inspire and make a difference. Yet often too much time is spent on activities that contribute little to those ambitions.
Reviewing duplicated paperwork, excessive meetings and marking practices offering limited educational value could create much-needed time and space without substantial expenditure.
Innovation isn’t always about introducing something new. Sometimes it means reconsidering practices that no longer serve their intended purpose.
4. Support colleagues through life’s changing chapters
Careers are rarely linear, and neither are personal circumstances. A teacher struggling with new leadership responsibilities might benefit from mentoring or coaching. Someone experiencing difficulties at home might need temporary adjustments.
Often a little kindness is remembered for years and repaid tenfold through loyalty, goodwill and professional commitment. These arrangements take planning and resources, of course, but losing expertise is a cost the profession simply cannot afford.
Teachers, too, should feel empowered to share their concerns openly, explore possibilities and work collaboratively with school leaders to find solutions.
After all, a challenging chapter met with compassion, understanding and the right support could pave the way for another decade of dedicated service.
5. Leave the door open
Sometimes leaving is the right decision. Schools should celebrate colleagues’ contributions, conduct meaningful exit interviews and act constructively on feedback.
Maintaining positive relationships creates opportunities for talented teachers to return with fresh perspectives and renewed enthusiasm. How we treat colleagues when they leave says much about the culture we create for those who remain.
Ultimately, retaining exceptional teachers isn’t about persuading people to stay at any cost. It’s about creating environments where staff can flourish without sacrificing their wellbeing or responsibilities beyond the classroom.
Teachers don’t always leave because they’ve stopped loving teaching. Sometimes they leave because teaching no longer leaves enough room for the people they love.
So, before another resignation email arrives, perhaps we should ask: what could we change that might make staying possible?
Dr Sarah Mullin is an experienced school leader, visiting professor of education and best-selling author
