Research School Network: The Workplace Environment, Gallup and Retention A review of the teacher retention data for 2025 and how leaders can influence this.
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The Workplace Environment, Gallup and Retention
A review of the teacher retention data for 2025 and how leaders can influence this.
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by Durrington Research School
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Get talking about teaching and it is pretty hard to escape the topic of recruitment and retention. For schools leaders it is an ever-present thought or concern. Recent research into the matter by the Gatsby Foundation has found evidence that confirms these concerns, but also some green shoots for leaders to cling onto.
A review of job adverts found that for the current academic year the number of adverts for posts was notably lower than in previous years. Such a decline may indicate improving teacher retention as teachers remain settled in roles undertaken during the post-pandemic recovery, it may just be a result of a falling demand for secondary teachers as cohorts diminish in size. Furthermore, the notable decline in teachers saying if they intended to stay in the profession in recent years (a figure that dropped by 15% post the pandemic) has begun to stabilize – although remains disappointingly low at 60%.
Of concern is the substantial body of research showing that schools serving areas of social disadvantages face an even more intense problem of recruitment and retention, with schools that have a high proportion of FSM eligible pupils experiencing a higher number of non-specialist or supply teachers regularly teaching lessons, high staff turnover and a greater proportion of ECT’s within their staff body. Commitment to teaching also appears linked to disadvantage and other area based contextual factors, with those staff reporting the highest commitment to remaining in teaching working in private schools, while job satisfaction was generally lower for staff working in the most disadvantaged primary schools.
The picture therefore isn’t exactly rosy. According to Sims (2021) more than a 1/3 of teachers across European countries point to a shortage of qualified staff as a major barrier to their capacity to provide instruction., and therefore improving retention is an essential goal for school leaders, but what can we do?!
There is a large amount of research that suggests the quality of the working environment in a school is intrinsically linked to teacher retention, with a particular emphasis on the school leadership experienced by staff. Unlike other factors that can affect staff turnover rates such as pay the working environment (consisting of school policies and relationships) is in the influence of leaders. Sam Sims (2021) work developing a “Teacher’ Working Environment Scale” suggested numerous factors that contribute to a positive working environment in schools including:
School leaders providing opportunities for teachers to participate in decision making
Leaders recognizing teachers for doing a good job
Having approachable school leaders.
Having policies (i.e., behavior policies) that allow teachers to get on with teaching
Having middle and senior leaders that can be trusted to support me in relation to behavior.
Having teachers within departments/phases that work together to solve problems
Having colleagues that care about teachers
Being expected to do tasks that contribute to pupils’ education.
On the surface it can be easy to think that such conditions organically exist in schools, but by their very nature they can be highly tacit, difficult to pin down and easily assumed to be happening. Subsequently leaders need to have an explicit focus on creating a work environment in which staff feel valued, engaged, noticed and motivated. Here at Durrington Research School, part of Durrington Multi Academy Trust we have attempted to address this by adopting the “Gallup Q12 Questions” as a main part of our leadership principles in practice approach – which guides the work of all our middle and senior leaders. Gallup’s employee engagement work is based on more than 30 years of in depth behavioral economic research involving more than 17 million employees. The Gallup survey questions can be used to predict team performance, and as part of our line management schedule leaders are regularly asked to reflect on whether we have “lived” these principles. For example, leaders are asked to consider matter such as:
Have they facilitated opportunities for their teams to do what they do best – i.e. support and teach our students to the best of their abilities?
Have they recognized and praised members of their team in the past 7 days?
Have they shown a level of care and interest in their team?
Have they talked with members of their team about career progression?
Have they given opportunities for their team to share their opinions on matters?
This is not a silver bullet to the retention and recruitment crisis, but the research suggests that when answers to all 12 of the Gallup survey questions are positive, work places will be more productive, have higher staff participation and satisfactions – and that in turn should have a positive effect on retention.
Certain factors relating to teacher recruitment and retention are beyond the control of leaders – the experience of the work place environment is not.
Sims, S. (2021). Why do some schools struggle to retain staff? Development and validation of the Teachers’ Working Environment Scale (TWES). Review of Education.
