Articles by ‘The Secret Teacher’ in the Guardian and various stories through the TES have mentioned the transformation some schools have been through with the push for Academisation.

When is the right time to jump?

Articles by ‘The Secret Teacher’ in the Guardian and various stories through the TES have mentioned the transformation some schools have been through with the push for Academisation. With that as a Launchpad, I want to write about the conditions that mean that it might be time to pursue a new position at a different school, though not a different career entirely.

The unfortunate reality is that I speak to a lot of teachers who have decided to leave the profession. With figures from an NUT survey showing that 73% of school leaders were struggling to fill positions and a figure of ¼ of NQTs leaving teaching within the first three years, it seems like it is a breaking point for the profession.

So if your school has been through a lot of change recently, whether because of conversion of because new SLT are creating an environment you do not want to be in you have to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Can I adapt or should I find a school more suited to my views?
2. What is my desired career path (does it involve promotion) and can my current school provide me with that path?
3. What support have you received from senior staff through any transition at the school? How highly are you valued?

It is very easy to become cynical or to think that life will be easier if only you worked part time. The truth is however that as much as schools can try to accommodate part time staff (through job share etc) there is still value for pupils in consistency and value for you in being imbedded and immersed in the school environment as it gives you a chance to shape that environment. I am also not sure how many teachers can afford to work part time, I certainly could not! In my experience, part time staff often have to do as much as their full time colleagues but with the pay.

At Classroom we work with some fantastic schools, with hugely supportive senior staff who find it incredibly difficult to recruit. In many instances it is because teachers have tarred every school with the same brush. Some schools are badly affected by perception when really they are doing remarkable things. It can pay to take a deep breath, step back and really assess what a new school can offer.

So when you think about the potential of moving my advice would always be:

1. Be open minded
2. It never hurts to look at your options
3. Remember why you got into teaching in the first place; what gets you up on a cold Tuesday morning in February?
4. Remember that the grass is not always greener in other professions

I would love to hear your thoughts. Does this chime with your experience or am I way off the mark? Let me know!