Why 40% of teachers leave within 10 years: workload, leadership culture and rebuilding teaching as a profession

16 snips

Jan 28, 2026

Baroness Mary Bousted, former NEU Joint General Secretary and chair of the Teaching Commission, speaks from a lifetime in teaching and union leadership. She explores why 40% of teachers leave within ten years. Conversations cover excessive workload, how leadership culture affects staff wellbeing, the effects of poverty and cuts on schools, and practical steps like flexible working and better timetabling to rebuild teaching as a profession.

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ANECDOTE

Union Life Under COVID Pressure

During COVID Mary worked from early morning until night coordinating union action and member support.
The NEU ran huge Zoom events and gained 50,000 members by filling the safety-information gap.

ANECDOTE

Industrial Action That Changed Pay Outcomes

The NEU ran two successful ballots and eight strike days, securing a 6.5% pay rise.
That settlement set the tone for other public sector pay awards and depended on member solidarity.

ADVICE

Deliver Granular, Subject CPD

Offer subject-specific CPD led by subject experts, not generic one-size-fits-all training.
Let departments choose CPD topics so learning directly improves classroom practice.

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Welcome to Series 3 of Trust Matters: Lessons in Leadership - the podcast where we explore the big ideas, challenges and lived experiences shaping the future of trust and school leadership.

We’re opening the series with a powerful and timely conversation about one of the most urgent issues facing education today: how we make teaching an attractive, sustainable profession again.

Joining us is Baroness Mary Bousted, Chair of The Teaching Commission and one of the most influential voices in education. Mary began her career as an English teacher before moving into teacher training and, ultimately, union leadership. She went on to serve as Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, representing more than half a million members, and has been a tireless advocate for teachers’ working lives, professional autonomy and wellbeing.

In this episode, we explore the findings of the Teaching Commission’s Shaping the Future of Teaching report, which reveals the scale of the recruitment and retention crisis - including the fact that 40% of teachers leave the profession within 10 years, and that it now takes 10 new teachers to replace every 7 who leave.

Mary reflects on her leadership journey, what she learned leading one of the UK’s largest unions, and what continues to drive her sense of purpose. We dig into the roots of excessive workload, the role of leadership culture in staff wellbeing, the impact of poverty and shrinking public services on schools, and why flexible working must become a serious part of the conversation.

This is a thoughtful, challenging and deeply informed conversation about leadership, trust, and what it will really take to rebuild teaching as a profession people want to stay in.

LINKS

For more on how The Key can support your trust, visit: key.sc/trustsupport
Subscribe to our newsletter, Trust Matters: key.sc/trustmatters
Connect with Mary on LinkedIn.

Read Mary’s book: Support Not Surveillance: How to solve the teacher retention crisis

All views expressed in this episode are the guest’s own. Any mention of commercial providers, resources or products is on the guest’s recommendation and should not be considered an endorsement by The Key.