Views

'TEACHER RETENTION: BUILDING A MOTIVATED PROFESSION'

SPEECH BY DAVID MILIBAND MP

MINISTER OF STATE FOR SCHOOL STANDARDS

AT THE GTC CONFERENCE ON RETENTION

LONDON, 24 JUNE 2003

This is a timely conference. The GTC was set up to provide an independent voice for the professionalism of the teaching profession, to highlight emerging issues, and to point the way to the future. Done in the right way the debate about retention can exemplify those purposes.
All the evidence is that teacher recruitment is heading in the right direction:

there are rising numbers of teachers: about 25 000 more than 1997, 4300 more since last year.

there are more teachers being recruited to initial teacher training: an increase of almost 19 % since 1998/9, to over 31 000 this year.

there are more applications to teacher training: a May to May increase on last year of 16%.

the widening range of pathways into teaching are proving popular with over 3,700 recruited to the Graduate Teacher Programme in 2002/03, and there will be an extra 88 Training Schools from this September, bringing the total to 168.

there is progress in some of our hardest-to-crack problems: more men applying to primary training, with a 28 % increase on last year in male applicants to primary PGSE, and more recruits in shortage subjects, with almost 11,000 trainees recruited to training courses in the five priority subjects this year, compared with less than 9,000 in 1998/99.

and of course we have the latest evidence from Ofsted which says that we have the highest quality of teacher trainees ever - demonstrating that the expanding teaching profession will also be better prepared to help students learn.

So having turned the corner on recruitment, it is right to discuss retention.

Teachers are the life-blood of the education system. Having invested in their training, it is crucial that they remain motivated and committed throughout their careers, using their experience and their career development to deliver higher and higher standards of learning, and that they come back to teaching if they leave the profession to start a family or gain wider experience. As the demands and pressures on, as well as from, young people continue to grow, it is vital that we enter into a serious debate about the demands and pressures faced by teachers, and how we build the flexible, modern profession to meet them.

Our educational aspirations are based on the simple view that every child has a talent, every child is special, and every child matters. For this aspiration to be a reality, every teacher matters, everyday. The best retention strategy is to build a successful school system, and it is the link between teacher retention and pupil achievement that runs through my speech.

Retention

So what is the current position on teacher retention? Let me summarise the situation as I see it:

there are significant demographic challenges

but on average, about two thirds of teachers now stay in the profession for more than 10 years, and about 70% for more than five

Smithers and Robinson's research suggests that, whilst rising since 1998, teacher wastage rates are now stabilising - or even decreasing

in addition to retirement, Smithers and Robinson found that those leaving tend to be very young teachers, and those in shortage subjects, with special issues often linked to housing in London

but the biggest drivers on retention are workload, discipline, and a general sense of professional self-respect.

So there are strengths in our position, but also challenges. I want to work with you to meet those challenges. My view is that the key to retention is clarity and power of reform - reform to ensure that teaching reflects the aspirations of teachers, parents and pupils for teaching as it should be; reform to ensure that the talents of teachers are properly used and rewarded; and reform to ensure that teachers get support when they are taking difficult decisions on behaviour and discipline.

The best motivator of teachers is the feeling that they are making a difference: making a difference in pupils' lives that will last all their life. This poses demands for Heads and for LEAs as well as parents and pupils. But it also poses a challenge for Government. Here is what I think teachers have a right to expect from Government.

Strategy for education

First, to really feel they are making a difference, teachers need to feel there is a value base for education policy that puts their professionalism to good use. Teachers share a moral purpose to do right by their pupils; Government needs to share that moral purpose.

Teachers have a right to see in the actions of Government a reflection of their commitment to teaching and learning that reflects the dignity of every child; they have a right to expect the Government strategy is backed by funding; and they have a right to expect that Government policy is pursued in a coherent and consistent way with minimum bureaucracy. Hence the importance of the Implementation Review Unit, run by Head Teachers and teachers to root out the systems that bug teachers. Hence also the importance of Ministers setting a course and sticking to it - and I am pleased that my priorities are the same this year as last year.

Teaching and learning should be the judge and jury of every school and every policy. That is why we put such stress on the four things that all the research shows make the most difference to teaching and learning:

first, leadership in a school that delivers vision and coherence to the schools' mission; vital to teacher morale

second, every school developing a centre of excellence, and every school committed to collaboration with other schools to promote learning and improvement; vital to teacher development

third, every school using the talents of the whole school team to support pupil progress; vital to teacher workload

and fourth every school recognising that support from the wider community is vital to deliver for pupils; vital to teacher confidence

Our vision, then, is of a modern professionalism. One supported and developed by schools. One given trust and flexibility by the Government. And, above all, one better able to respond to the learning needs of young people.

Teachers as professionals

The second thing teachers should expect from Government is a modern pay system.

I know that this has been a difficult year for funding. There have been unique pressures; and there have been one-off changes to the distribution of resource. We are now working to deliver stability and growth across the system for the next two years.

More teachers, better paid, cost more. Since 1997, spending on teachers pay in maintained schools has increased by over £4bn pa. A good honours graduate who joined on point 2 in 1997 is, by normal salary progression, on over £26,000 pa on 1 September 2003, a real increase of almost 70%. In April 2002, average teachers' pay outside London was about £29,000; in Inner London it was about £32,500.

We said last year in our STRB evidence that basic pay outside London is now competitive. But an appropriate pay system does more than boost basic pay:

We need to audit, accredit and reward proven performance, which is why the Threshold system is important.

And we need to recognise excellence in classroom teaching and in whole school contribution, notably on the Upper Pay Spine above the Threshold and for Advanced Skill Teachers.

Let me focus on ASTs. They are new to the system. But they are a brilliant strategy for retaining the best teachers not just in education but in the classroom.

There are currently about 3200 ASTs - triple that of just over a year ago. And they cover a wide range of subjects: 404 in English; 361 in Science; 355 in Maths; 325 in Modern Foreign Languages; 197 in Music; 164 in IT; and 110 in Geography.

Ofsted report that this increase has had an immediate impact - both in the teaching and learning of subject specialisms, and more generally as ASTs become key figures in whole school improvement.

This is vital. ASTs spread best practice, build role models for new recruits, re-inspire experienced teachers, and enable them to develop a leadership role whilst remaining in the classroom.

The Upper Pay Spine is also important. Every school needs to ensure that progress up the UPS for more senior and experienced teachers - half the profession, after all - reflects their significant impact on teaching and learning and whole school improvement. We have always been clear that the Upper Pay Spine is not merely a second incremental scale but a key element of a supportive but searching performance management system. Progress along it, at whatever speed, should vary dependent on the contribution made. Here as elsewhere our role must be to strengthen the capacity of heads to make robust judgements which incentivise and reward success. We will be taking fresh thinking on this to the School Teachers' Review Body in the next few weeks.

Not only do excellent teachers have a right to this kind of career progression, the education system needs it to be effective if the relative priorities of expansion and promotion are to be given appropriate weight. Both to retain and develop our best staff and, in doing so, to improve standards for students.

Workforce reform

Third, teachers have a right to be treated as modern professionals, working to the tasks for which they are trained, with the appropriate human and ICT support to do their jobs to the best of their ability. The Smithers' research - as well as other work - shows workload is the top priority for teacher retention.

In order to retain the best staff, and to increase standards of teaching and learning, we need to guarantee time for teaching, support for teaching, and leadership of teaching. I believe that through the National Agreement, and the progress made by the Government and the Signatories, we are firmly on our way to achieving this.

For some this change is controversial. Change always is. But let's remember the facts on teacher workload. They show that the problem is not that teachers are teaching too much, but that they are too burdened by other tasks.

On average, while teachers spend about 20 hours a week teaching, they spend between 5 and 6 hours on administrative tasks. Bureaucracy and excessive cover are time consuming. And we also need to look carefully at the average of 8 hours a week that teachers spend on non-teaching contact.

This is why, alongside the expansion of the teaching profession, the National Agreement makes vital commitments to:

i) the devolution of 24 tasks including: chasing absentees; bulk photocopying; record keeping and filing; and ordering supplies.

ii) limits on the requirement to cover for absent colleagues

iii) guaranteed PPA to help ensure classroom time is geared to bringing the best out of students

iv) all supported by support staff

Some schools already ensure that teachers do not have to do the 24 tasks. From September, as I confirmed last week, it will need to be all schools.

This will mean doing things differently. It will mean head teachers ensuring that their whole school team is deployed in the most effective way. But, most importantly, it will mean that teachers can focus on what they do best - and what only they can do - teaching.

Take for example, Kemnal Technology College where I was last week. Good use of support staff has meant that teachers do not have to cover absent colleagues, they do not perform administrative tasks and, by September, they will not carry out any lunchtime duties.

There are also direct improvements in teaching and learning. In the maths class I attended, the teacher prepared the lesson, gave the introduction, helped students during the class and gave the plenary at the end. The classroom assistants, all of whom were studying to become HLTAs, took the register, gave out equipment, and did all the marking, as well as helping pupils during the class.

Last year, as part of a rigorous agenda for whole school improvement, this reform helped the college become one of the most improved schools in the country. 56% of students now achieve 5+A*-C grades at GCSE - compared to only 29% in 1999. When I asked pupils in the school what was the best thing about the increased use of classroom assistants, they gave me a simple answer: more personal help. When I asked teachers, they gave the same answer: more time for them to make more difference to more pupils.

Today I reinforce these messages - and argue that workforce reform is vital for successful teacher retention.

Training

Fourth, teachers have a right to training and CPD. But this needs to be more than a paper commitment. We need to offer a career not just a job.

That career starts with the expertise of the teacher, including, and for too long neglected, their subject expertise. Teachers have a real interest in their subject. It is motivating. They are excited by it. Our discussion document published recently is intended to help them develop that sense of motivation and excitement.

This year we have targeted £600m on activities where training and development of existing teachers is central - the Standards Fund grant, the CPD strategy, the NLN Strategies, the Key Stage 3 Strategy.

To most outsiders the school system makes significant commitment of time and resource for training and professional development. But I think the time is right for serious debate through the GTC and elsewhere about some key concerns.

how ITT and CPD fit together, there needs to be real synergy

how INSET days and other training are brought more efficiently together

how CPD is more closely integrated with school improvement, crucially via the performance management system, that should be a driver of good CPD

how school collaboration can be a motor for effective CPD

and how national agencies like NCSL and local players like LEAs can maximise their contribution to what should be an ongoing debate in every school about strategies to raise pupil performance

Learning communities of teachers within schools are essential to raising standards. And they are vital to retention. When teachers feel successful, competent and energised by the progress of pupils, schools are vibrant and attractive places to work. That is the goal of CPD.

Supported on key issues

Finally, teachers have the right to expect support from the wider community, including from Government, in doing their jobs. The key is to support all staff in schools.

I believe in some simple truths:

no parent has the right to abuse a teacher or any other member of the school team, either physically or verbally

no pupil has the right to disrupt the education of their peers

no teacher or support staff should ever be told that respect is old-fashioned or authority out of date

Common sense. Yet a minority of students and parents continue to flout these values - with the consequences that the harmony and ethos of schools are damaged, staff demotivated, and, in extreme cases, both students and staff are made to feel unsafe. In contrast to CPD, there are no workshops on this today. But it is important.

There is a yobbish culture that says that it's OK to mouth off. Wrong. It is never OK.

Part of the drive on teacher retention is about instilling in pupils the value of respect for teacher authority, and the value of orderly behaviour. If we fail to confront abuse of teachers, then we allow children to believe that violence goes unchecked and that abuse is an accepted response to authority. Dealing with abuse sets the right example.

We have introduced a range of means to do so.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Bill will enable LEAs to pursue parenting contracts and orders for poor student behaviour and ill-discipline. This is in addition to the sanctions in place for assault. I want to make very clear today that we expect these new powers to be used. There will be no point in having them if they are not used - because the bark must not be worse than the bite.

The 'Safe School' Legal Toolkit provides guidance on dealing with incidents of parental assault. So when people who abuse teachers or support staff are before the courts, we want the full range of sanctions used. We must send a clear message - abuse will not be tolerated, teachers will be supported, attacks will be punished. If people abuse teachers, we expect to see them prosecuted and dealt with firmly. They should not get lost in the system and slip through the net.

This is not anti-parent. It is pro the majority of parents who support schools and teachers.

In addition to these sanctions, the new guidance to and composition of exclusion appeal panels establishes a better balance between school and pupil.

There are already over 1000 on-site Learning Support Units so that disruptive pupils can be quickly removed from classrooms. Not only does this fulfil our responsibility to students - even when they are dismissed from the classroom. It also affirms the right of teachers to teach free from abuse and harassment.

This is an important area, and a difficult one. There is no easy policy lever. But respect and good behaviour can be made part of the school culture quickly. It is vital that they are so.

Conclusion

Teaching broadens horizons. It transmits knowledge and culture. And it teaches children the skills they need to keep learning as adults.

This must be celebrated. Indeed, a celebration of good teaching is vital in our attempts to improve retention. That is why I spend a lot of my time talking up the education system, rather than talking it down. But the responsibility is not mine alone: in all our debates within the education world we should always imagine a prospective parent or prospective teacher is listening.

They want to hear people passionately debating how to help their children. They are not impressed when we forget the good things and only talk about the bad.

I am in politics to ensure that life chances are determined by merit and effort not birth and wealth. That makes me passionate about higher standards of teaching and learning and better performance in tests, exams and wider activities, because they make such a difference to life chances.

Ofsted announced last week that we have the best generation of teacher trainees ever. They also say that we have the best generation of teachers ever. Our ten year olds are recorded as the 3rd best readers in the world. At 15 we are high performers.

Yet there are challenges of underperformance and underachievement. These challenges are not new. But we do have a new chance to meet them. Teacher retention is crucial to that. And teachers have the right to make demands on Government. But the wider community will ask for innovation and change in return:

flexibility to meet individual student needs
innovation in how people work together
reform in the way standards are enhanced
Teachers can be the agents of great change. We want to support them in that.

Good teaching holds the key to these challenges. And good teaching depends in part on high retention. We are committed to that. All educational partners have a role to play in developing new ideas, putting into practice good ideas, and talking up teaching. And I look forward to working with you to achieve it.