Teachers have revealed how the extortionate cost of childcare, a lack of flexible working and significant pay erosion are forcing people – particularly women – out of the profession.
With teacher recruitment reaching crisis point, the latest Schools Workforce Census showed that women aged between 30 and 39 are the largest group of teachers to leave the profession. Female teachers battling the childcare predicament told i the difficulties of having a family are forcing many to give up the job they love.
“Ironically, a job that is about children is so difficult for people who have children,” said Heather Darcy, a secondary school teacher living in Oxford, who is currently on maternity leave with her first baby Theo, who is eight months old.
“Many people mistakenly think teaching must be a great career if you have a family. But it is not, because it is not a very flexible job as you can’t do things like work from home or do your hours when you want to because you have to be at school with the children in front of you.”
Ms Darcy, 37, whose husband is also a teacher, will be returning to work when Theo is one.
However, despite being teachers and not needing childcare during school holidays, the couple will be forced to pay almost £20,000 a year in nursery fees. No nurseries near them offer term-time only for one-year-olds, so they will have to pay for 51 weeks of childcare.
