School replaced staff twice in one year
A London primary school had to replace all its teachers twice in the course of one year, it was revealed today.
The school was forced to fill each of its eight posts twice because of the teacher turmoil affecting virtually every school in the capital.
The primary, which has not been named, was the worst affected in a government study that reveals the astonishing scale of turnover of teachers in London.
Today experts warned that children's education was being damaged. The study found:
- Schools in London and the South-East lost more teachers last year than anywhere else in England.
- Almost one in five primary school teachers in outer London left their jobs to go elsewhere last year.
- In inner London, the proportion rose to almost one in four.
- Comprehensives can shed 40 per cent of their permanent teachers in a single year.
- Half the job-changers in London moved out of the region altogether.
The survey piles pressure on Tony Blair's chief education adviser, new London schools minister Lord Adonis, to tackle the recruitment problems facing headteachers.
It also raises concerns about the standard of education provided for pupils in London. Research shows children learn better if taught by familiar faces who are in their classrooms week in, week out.
The study was ordered by the Department for Education and Skills and carried out by the centre for education and employment research at Buckingham University.
The plight of the primary school which replaced all its staff twice was revealed in an anonymous survey of headteachers. The study also found two other schools with a teacher turnover of more than 100 per cent in one year.
Professor Alan Smithers, who led the project, said as well as behaviour issues, the main reasons teachers quit were to improve their salaries, work in a better school and because they felt undervalued.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has admitted "low-level disruption" in classrooms is getting worse.
The professor said the Government had to do more to attract teachers to London.
Although starting salaries are now more than ?20,000 in London, the capital is losing out because the national teachers' pay scale prevents headteachers from offering financial sweeteners.
Teacher training colleges should make readying recruits for work in London schools a mark of "honour", he added.
