Schools are facing their “greatest crisis” as one in three new teachers quit the profession within five years of qualifying.
Amid warnings that teachers are over-worked and under-paid, government data shows almost a quarter who qualified in the last five years have already quit the classroom.
The Government is being urged to start negotiating with teaching unions to prevent a strike, with the ballot closing on January 13.
Department for Education figures show 26,443 teachers who qualified in the last five years have already left the job.
More than 20,000 new recruits join the profession every year, but around one in eight leave within their first year. After three years almost one in four have quit.
