FEATURE FOCUS: RECRUITMENT
Time to take a fresh look at recruitment and retention
When I started teaching in the 1990s what I expected from my employer was very different from today.
In fact, it was probably a case of taking what I was offered and being grateful – teachers were expected to commit to a lifelong career, hit the ground running and mould their lives around its considerable demands. Of course, things have changed, and it’s not just down to us Gen Xers and Millennials being displaced by Gen Z. Many people from across the age range have changed their expectations of their careers in lots of sectors, and teaching is no different.
While teachers love the rewards and unique professional challenges and achievements of teaching – that’s never really changed – they are, quite rightly, expecting a greater balance between their professional and personal lives, as well as clear development pathways, support and flexibility.
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areer expectations have moved on since the ’90s, and schools and trusts now need to do the same by taking a fresh look at their recruitment and retention strategies, says Penny Swain, Partnerships Director at Supporting Education Group.
Those expectations of course need to be taken into consideration by decision makers in our schools and trusts. As well as creating people strategies and reassessing the culture to meet a lot of those personal professional needs and promote retention, they also need to acknowledge change in the way people come into the sector.
There are a range of routes into education roles. Apprenticeships are growing in popularity as a way to skill up and retain
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existing staff such as teaching assistants and bring in new members of the team. And returners – former teachers who come back into the profession later in life after career breaks – are an increasingly important source of recruitment as traditional graduate recruitment slows. In fact, for the first time ever we are seeing those returning to teaching outstripping those newly entering the profession.
Supply staff – traditionally a stopgap measure to fill short term staffing needs – are a vital, growing part of the staffing picture. Many teachers are now opting for supply as a way of maintaining their teaching skills with plenty of flexibility.
Whichever way we look at it, the landscape has irrevocably changed, and trusts and schools need to shift their recruitment and retention strategies to ensure that they are fit for the future.
‘How we do this?’ is the big question, and one that we looked at in detail during Supporting Education Group’s recent webinar, Smarter Strategies for a Sustainable Workforce.
Rethinking retention
We talked about the reality of the modern workforce: longer working lives, non-linear ‘squiggly careers’ and rising expectations around flexibility, authenticity and
March 2026
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