'We need a SEND system that works in this country' says Kent MP as children return to school
We're hearing from the MP for Chatham and Aylesford - Tris Osborne - who has told us what the government can do to improve the experience for teachers
With children across Kent returning to school today, we're hearing from the MP for Chatham and Aylesford - Tris Osborne.
Last year, according to the latest figures by the Department of Education, 39,971 teachers left state-funded teaching for reasons other than retirement .
That's 8.8% of the workforce which was a small increase on 2021/22 when 39,597 teachers quit the profession.
Before joining Parliament, Tris was a Geography teacher for seven years at Strood Academy and then Stone Lodge School and with children back in the classroom after their Christmas break, we asked the Labour MP what the government can do to improve the experience for teachers, and keep more in the job.
Tris said: "I loved teaching but it was a hard job and I salute all the work that they do because it's the greatest job in the world but it's also the hardest one depending on where you are and the classes that you have and there are a couple of things that the government can do to support them."
Work Life Balance
"Staff need time to prepare their lessons, a lot of them feel like they are teaching them one after another and there isn't a lot of time to prepare so I know there is work that the government are doing with OFSTED on that at the moment."
Aspirations
"There needs to be work to ensure career progression occurs and the new staff that start, especially in their early 20s, do have the same opportunities they would have if they weren't in the profession because lifestyle have changed and expectations have changed around work as well.
Discipline
"Some schools are really good at this, there is a clear code of conduct around the pupil's code of conduct such as what they should be wearing and there needs to be a culture in schools, like there is many excellent ones, that is fostered around this to give support to teachers when there are difficulties.
SEND
"Quality first teaching is absolute standard in the curriculum and is taught to us when we train but when you have a lot of SEND need which is undiagnosed in the classroom, that is not fair on the child or the member of staff because it means those individuals are not getting the support they need.
"Therefore, we need an SEND system that works in this country because things are very tricky for staff at the moment because there a lot of classes where there is a lot of need and teachers don't feel like they can deal with that.