School leaders need additional training in relational and communication skills as they face managing an 鈥渋ncreasingly complex range of stakeholders鈥, a new report has said. The Department for Education should also 鈥渃onduct a biannual review of bureaucratic requirements on schools with explicit target for reduction鈥. Teacher wellbeing charity Education Support has on its 2023 commission on teacher and leader retention, warning many of its recommendations 鈥渉ave not been acted upon鈥. At the same time, the estimated cost of teachers leaving to the sector has ballooned to 拢1.5 billion in lost training costs, supply and decreased productivity. The report, shared with Schools Week ahead of its official publication earlier today, lists a new set of recommendations for government. ‘Support schools to manage parental expectations’ The said government should 鈥渟upport schools to manage parental expectations and relationships鈥 and provide 鈥渉igh quality professional learning鈥 for heads. The report said leaders 鈥渨ant better training 鈥 and time 鈥 to develop their relational, communication and emotional intelligence skills, as they are faced with an increasingly complex range of stakeholders to manage“. These stakeholders include other public bodies and agencies, organisations like foodbanks, as well as parents. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital that we invest in these skills now, to ensure that current and future cohorts of school leaders feel equipped to take on the complexity of their role, and can strategically develop positive organisational cultures, which make their schools attractive places to work.鈥 The charity said it backed calls to include relational skills in future content for national professional qualifications 鈥渁nd see this as a key pillar in any retention strategy鈥. 拢1 billion cost of teacher attrition The report also warned that teacher attrition is now costing the school sector more than a billion pounds. In 2023-24, 37,021 teachers left the profession for reasons other than retirement. Education Support estimates the cost of training those teachers was 鈥渙ver 拢1 billion in real terms鈥. 鈥淲e can neither afford to lose this precious resource, nor to ignore the 拢1bn lost opportunity cost.” The loss is 鈥渇urther compounded by the additional costs incurred by managing staff turnover鈥, including the cost of lost productivity, recruitment costs, supply costs, impact on workload and morale of the wider team. 鈥淥nce this is accounted for, we estimate that the cost of the current rate of attrition rises to over 拢1.5 billion per annum.鈥 The charity鈥檚 2023 report urged government to track a key performance indicator for retention, recognise the increasing complexity of needs and wider social issues addressed by teachers and clarify what is and isn鈥檛 expected of schools. It also called for an HR advisory service to support the sector and reform to accountability to improve the 鈥渃limate of professional trust鈥. ‘Schools asked to do more than possible’ However, today鈥檚 report warns there has been 鈥渓ittle/no progress鈥 on those recommendations, with only 鈥渟ome progress鈥 towards its other recommendations, such as a call to review directed time and review early career framework and NPQ content. Education Support has issued a new set of recommendations (see below) and renewed calls for a refreshed teacher retention strategy. The last one was published in 2019. Any such strategy 鈥渟hould include funded provision of reflective practice for educational professionals, especially for those in emotionally demanding roles such as leadership, safeguarding, or SEND roles鈥. The charity added that 鈥渁longside these recommendations, it鈥檚 important to note the systemic reality that educators are working in. They are being asked to do more than is possible within the resources and time currently available. 鈥淭his is reflected in the way around half the workforce, including leaders, negatively describes the impact of their workload and workplace culture on their wellbeing.鈥 It added that 鈥渨e can no longer expect schools to do more with less. We need to reset the ratio between the resource available to schools and the extent of demand placed upon them, and this requires political leadership. 鈥淎 transparent and unequivocal signal of intent would set a hopeful tone and a climate for improved teacher retention.鈥 A DfE spokesperson said: 鈥淟ast year saw one of the lowest rates of teachers leaving the profession since 2010, and we are already delivering on our pledge to recruit and retain 6,500 more talented teachers with 2,300 more secondary and special school teachers in classrooms this year.聽 鈥淲e will continue to work with teachers as partners in the push for better, driving high and rising standards.鈥 The new recommendations Review the way in which selection at the point of entry to schools and colleges can be gamified to improve perceptions of performance and risk demoralisation in the most inclusive settings Senior government figures [should] publicly celebrate and appreciate teaching and teachers Highlight the value that good teaching creates for society Ensure relative real income of mid-career teachers is competitive compared to other professions through fully-funded pay awards Fully fund support staff pay increase Consider increasing funded PPA to lessen work intensity and overwork Improve the effectiveness of the DfE workload policy test Highlight resources, templates, budget calculators and timetabling approaches to support flexible working Share evidence on the value of diverse representation in education Profile role models with visible and invisible protected characteristics Support ITE providers to ensure training is grounded in the complex reality of modern classroom life Ensure more tailoring in CPD Promote reflective practice and learning models that increase teacher agency Review per pupil funding model in the context of falling birth rate Ensure reflective practice space [is] available to every leader that wants it DfE to conduct a biannual review of bureaucratic requirements on schools with explicit target for reduction Support schools to manage parental expectations and relationships Address teacher supply in shortage subjects High quality professional learning for leaders In policymaking, explicitly recognise and consider the impact of the ratio between the demand on schools and the resource available to meet that demand Fund capacity for high quality mentoring for early career teachers Involve teachers in policymaking, framing classroom practice as respected expertise