UK teachers to be offered a year’s paid sabbatical to improve retention

Recently, British Education Secretary Damian Hinds, announced that teachers in England will be offered up to a year’s paid sabbatical after 10 years of service. The £5m pilot scheme was designed to ensure teaching remains “an attractive, fulfilling profession”. The scheme allows teachers to take between a term and a year away from the classroom to further their studies or spend a year working in an industry relevant to their field.

In addition, the government will also be introducing better support measures for new teachers, such as extending the induction period to two years, and developing a more thorough mentoring and training framework.

All of these measures are part of efforts to retain experienced staff in classrooms and address the shortfall of teachers in the profession. It will also aim to address the issue of heavy teacher workloads which has been responsible for up to 80% of surveyed classroom teachers admitting to having considered quitting the profession at any one point in the careers.

In my opinion, it is always good to recoup and recharge. It helps destress the body and mind, and teachers will certainly return to their classrooms refreshed and energised. As an educator myself, I understand intimately the stresses teachers experience in executing their responsibilities to educate effectively. Such measures, coupled with a good curriculum and balanced workload, will certainly help to lessen that stress, and lead to positive effects not just for the teachers, but for students who will reap the benefits as well.

If you want to read more about the measures to be introduced by the UK government for teachers, click the following link:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/04/teachers-to-be-offered-years-paid-sabbatical-to-improve-retention

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