Top Tips for Retaining School Staff

It's one of the biggest crises facing schools in 2024-25 - staff recruitment and retention. But with some causes for the mass exodus of staff leaving the profession out of headteachers' control, what can school leaders actually do to retain the staff they have? We explore strategies, ideas and top tips in this blog.

Before we get to the suggestions, it's worth taking a moment to reflect. If you're reading this, you're likely to be a school leader and therefore someone who is able to make decisions that affect staff, both positively and negatively. Sometimes, these choices contribute to staff leaving our schools (or out of the profession altogether) but part of being a good leader is us being brutally honest with ourselves - what decisions are we making (or not making) that are affecting the team of people we work with? 

Think about the following push factors and whether any of them play a part in your school: 

  • excessive or increasing workload
  • excessive scrutiny
  • feeling undervalued
  • pupil behaviour issue
  • a toxic work environment
  • insufficient resources for staff to carry out their role effectively 
  • a lack of opportunities for career progression 

Would you want to do a job where these factors exist? If the answer's no, then part of our role is to change the things we can change, which includes working on some of our own fears and thoughts, such as "I need staff to fill in that paperwork because Ofsted will need it," or "My staff trust me so I don't need to tell them they're doing a good job."

Not only are there push factors in schools, but there are pull factors that cause staff to leave too, such as:

  • more flexible working arrangements elsewhere to fit around a person's life, family and hobbies
  • better pay being offered elsewhere (especially for those not on the teachers' pay scale)
  • comparable pay for a jobs outside of the profession with less stress, workload and exhaustion
  • the ability to take cheaper holidays during term time

    While some of these are hard to compete against, being aware of factors like these will help you address some of the challenges in retaining staff.

    With that said, here are the top tips...

     

    1. Reduce staff workload (and make it part of your workload to do so)

    High workload is the number one reason that teaching staff give for wanting to leave the profession and it affects other school-based roles too. The DfE have produced various resources to support leaders' efforts in reducing workload and supporting staff wellbeing. This DfE website contains the information if you want to dig deeper, but consider the following ideas as a starting point:

    • identifying and eliminating unnecessary administrative tasks
    • introducing changes and improvements over a realistic time period so that staff do not become overwhelmed
    • encouraging staff to take breaks and building this into your timetable
    • offering staff easy ways to report issues with high workload

    A survey, perhaps conducted anonymously, could give you crucial insight into how staff truly feel about workload. Our School Survey Pack can help you plan this.

    2. Acknowledge and value all staff

    There is a strong correlation between staff feeling undervalued and those looking for new jobs - wouldn't you do the same after all? Acknowledging and valuing all staff is crucial to retention so why not consider:

    • ensuring that staff feel that their concerns and ideas are heard and considered, even if you can't change every single issue raised
    • consulting with staff about key changes that will impact their role well in advance of the change happening
    • empowering staff by helping them to be effective in their roles by removing barriers and offering support
    • acknowledging personal events, such as achievements outside of work, birthdays and family milestones
    • introducing recognition schemes, such as a weekly staff award in celebration assemblies

    3. Invest in staff wellbeing (then keep acting to ensure this continues)

    Don't fall into the trap of implementing wellbeing initiatives then letting them fall by the wayside after a term. If anything, this will demoralise staff and can damage your reputation as they'll perceive you supporting their wellbeing as just a tick-box exercise.

    Also, avoid making assumptions and generalisations about what is going to actually support staff members as individuals. Suggesting that a staff member goes and has a nice cup of tea when they get home can rub someone up the wrong way if it turns out they are a coffee drinker. The same goes for "have a nice bubble bath," "go for a long walk," or "cuddle up and watch a movie." For some people, these activities can negatively impact their wellbeing.

    Instead, focus on making change at a whole-school (rather than individual) level, which could include: 

    • identifying a staff wellbeing champion or team within school
    • supporting the wellbeing champion / team with time, resources and a budget to act on making changes
    • implementing policies that support staff wellbeing
    • creating an environment where staff feel comfortable to share any concerns
    • providing supervision sessions or mentoring for staff
    • ensuring that staff are taking the breaks that are allocated to them
    • offering an appropriate environment within school for staff to take breaks
    • exploring whether there are any elements of a role that could be completed remotely or flexibly
    • introducing a wellbeing survey to identify any areas for improvement
    • ensuring that there is a wellbeing link governor in place

    4. Build a strong sense of belonging 

    Staff who feel a strong sense of belonging are more likely to be proactive in seeking support when needed and more committed to finding strategies to overcome challenges that they face. Building a sense of community within smaller teams and departments within school, or across your whole school, is one way to do this.

    Like with investing in staff wellbeing, building a sense of community takes time to but possible strategies include:

    • identifying ways to help staff to get to know each other better 
    • offering team-building activities (with the caveat that not all members of staff would enjoy the same types of team-building activities and/or can afford to pay for these types of events - an after-school adventure sports sessions vs. going to the pub to have a drink and watch the football vs. organising a crafting and knitting evening, etc...)
    • identifying common values and goals
    • involving staff in making key decisions about the school
    • celebrating achievements and successes collectively


    5. Make sure communication is effective across the school

    Poor communication is one of the main workplace frustrations given by employees. This includes both communication from leaders to staff members and communication between team members, but also what your actions communicate to others. Ideas to improve communication include:

    • avoiding saying one thing and doing another
    • following through on the things you say you'll do (or acknowledging that you can't when you can't) 
    • ensuring that communication goes to the right staff members
    • checking that staff have understood key changes by speaking with them
    • ensuring staff are clear about their roles and what is and isn't expected of them
    • implementing communications policies, such as expectations around when emails are answered
    • managing conflict between staff, including dealing with issues sensitively and empathetically 

     

    6. Support staff to develop their skills

    Whether it's gaining a qualification, developing skills through coaching and mentoring or getting experience in different areas of the school, putting time, energy and funding into staff development is a key way to retain staff. If you need to support to plan this out, our CPD Planning and Preparation Pack will help you do this...

    One common frustration for school leaders is when school funding has been invested into a member of staff who then decides to leave. However, don't let this stop you from offering CPD, as staff who receive no professional development are more likely to leave anyway. Instead, consider asking staff to enter into a training agreement, which can include details around the cost of the CPD being repayable if they leave the school’s employment within a specified period of time. If taking this route, ensure this is done in a fair and responsible manner that follows employment laws.

    Other options for developing staff include:

    • providing constructive feedback on staff performance and recognising their accomplishments
    • allowing changes of year groups, subjects and responsibilities (where appropriate)
    • encouraging staff to pursue research interests
    • empowering staff to explore new opportunities for their subject area or work specialism
    • offering additional leadership responsibilities then guiding/mentoring the staff member when they undertaking them
    • providing clear pathways for development, promotion and specialised roles
    • encouraging staff to apply for vacancies you have
    • considering funded courses, such as some of the NPQ qualifications

     

    7. Consider financial incentives and perks

    Even if a member of staff loves working at your school, they are likely to be tempted by an offer of doing a similar role for significantly more money. Staff are your greatest resource so consider what your budget can stretch to and ensure that staff are appropriately compensated for any additional responsibilities that they have.

    Perks and benefits are great, providing they are actually useful and wanted. What is a perk to some is not a perk to others (I'm looking at you cycle-to-work scheme when I worked in a very rural school on top of a huge hill that was 20 miles away from my house 👀). Consider perks that can benefit all but remember that any benefits that involve a significant salary sacrifice may not have high levels of take-up. Examples include private healthcare packages, free or discounted gym memberships or free snacks in the staff room (and if staff have to pay for tea and coffee, consider whether this small cost can be absorbed by your budget with the aim of supporting wellbeing and valuing that staff often feel they need this to get through the day!)

    8. Offer cleverly planned flexible working

    Offering flexible working is seen as a huge benefit by many staff. For obvious reasons, schools are limited in their ability to offer this arrangement to employees but need to compete with employers that are able to offer this. Despite this, there are ways that schools can offer more flexible working arrangements, including:

    • remote working for planning and admin tasks (e.g. allowing staff to take PPA time at home)
    • part-time hours
    • job shares
    • staggered starting or finishing hours 
    • compressed hours (where a member of staff works full-time hours but over fewer days)
    • annualised hours (where working hours are spread across the year and/or hours vary throughout the year)
    • remote working for planning and admin tasks
    • time in lieu (paid time off for working additional hours elsewhere)
    • creative use of occasional days
    • phased retirement

     

    9. Support staff to manage behaviour (or make other wide-scale improvements)

    If we know pupils' behaviour is a key driver of staff leaving, supporting staff with behaviour management not only helps your pupils to learn more effectively but also keeps staff in your school. This isn't to say that you're telling staff that you promise to create a school that's free of all poor behaviour - more that if and when poor behaviour occurs, you will help them to manage it. 

    This can be done through your systems and processes, such as your behaviour policy, and offering staff training to develop their behaviour management skills. Honeyguide has various behaviour management resources to support you. 

     

    10. Start succession planning now

    We all know people who've stayed in one school or one role for too long and sometimes, a staff member leaving can be a blessing in disguise. Some degree of staff turnover will have benefits for your school, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to your staff along with renewed energy and enthusiasm. 

    However, this can also leave a gap in your staff team. Consider your succession plans now, including potential future leaders to fill roles or supporting training routes for those who wish to get into teaching. 

    And when you do end up needing to recruit, we've got interview packs and support available too.

     

    Final thoughts

    Changing the way the teaching profession is viewed and making the education system a sustainable place to work (let alone the wider changes) might take a decade or more. Taking a look at our actions as leaders and making a few of these small steps could take just an afternoon to plan out, Not only that, it'll make your school a more rewarding place to work, so where might your starting point be?

     

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