Teachers have revealed how the extortionate cost of childcare, a lack of flexible working and significant pay erosion are forcing people – particularly women – out of the profession.
With teacher recruitment reaching crisis point, the latest Schools Workforce Census showed that women aged between 30 and 39 are the largest group of teachers to leave the profession. Female teachers battling the childcare predicament told i the difficulties of having a family are forcing many to give up the job they love.
“Ironically, a job that is about children is so difficult for people who have children,” said Heather Darcy, a secondary school teacher living in Oxford, who is currently on maternity leave with her first baby Theo, who is eight months old.
“Many people mistakenly think teaching must be a great career if you have a family. But it is not, because it is not a very flexible job as you can’t do things like work from home or do your hours when you want to because you have to be at school with the children in front of you.”
Ms Darcy, 37, whose husband is also a teacher, will be returning to work when Theo is one.
However, despite being teachers and not needing childcare during school holidays, the couple will be forced to pay almost £20,000 a year in nursery fees. No nurseries near them offer term-time only for one-year-olds, so they will have to pay for 51 weeks of childcare.
“One of the ways in which I came to terms with the fact that I’m not part-time is that at least I’ll get school holidays to spend with my baby. But even though he won’t be there or be eating or using nappies when he is at home with me during school holidays, I’ll still have to pay £86 a day for nursery.
“I have no other choice if I want to keep his place in nursery. I’ve asked colleagues in similar situations what they’ve done and some say they have actually handed in their notice for nursery over the school summer holidays – and then crossed their fingers and hoped they’d still have space when they re-apply in September.
“But with nursery spaces so hard to come by, that is a very risky strategy.”
Ms Darcy said, with teacher’s pay being lower than many industries, it is no surprise the crippling financial burden of coping with childcare costs while being parted from their children is leading to many female teachers leaving the profession.
“The numbers don’t add up at all,” she said. “Some people say if we’re going to be paying for Theo to go to nursery during the school holidays, we may as well send him. But he’s only going to be little for a short time and I want to spend the holidays with him.
“It is just crazy that we will have to spend £86 a day for him not to be at nursery. I can see why so many female teachers feel they have no choice but to leave the industry.
“I have friends who have left teaching to go into different jobs and they get better maternity and paternity pay, flexible hours and when they have their annual leave, they don’t need a week just to recover because they are so exhausted.”
Rachael McNamara, 32, who lives in West Sussex, is a Special Educational Needs co-ordinator and a member of the senior leadership team at a primary school, as well as being mum to two children, Caitlin, two and 11-month-old Rowan.
Although she loves her job and has worked in education for 10 years, she told i she is considering leaving teaching because she is not making any money due to the cost of nursery for her two children.
She said this is an agonising decision for her, particularly as she wants to be a role model for her children.
As she was getting ready to return to work after maternity leave with Rowan, her daughter Caitlin said: “Mummy, why are you going to work? Girls don’t work.’
“This broke my heart,” said Ms McNamara. “That’s not the sort of role model I want her to have and I feel sad that she doesn’t think of me as working as she has seen me at home for the last year.
“It also hits a bit of a nerve as you realise the careers of the men around you are progressing. I see male teachers I trained with going on to headships and it makes me realise it is harder for me to do these things because of being a mother and the cost of childcare and the fact that I’m going to work for no money.
“It almost feels like it’s a luxury to go to work.”
Ms McNamara, who pays just under £140 a day for her two children to be in nursery, says she knows of several women in her profession who are either considering leaving or have left due to the cost of childcare.
“It’s infuriating as there’s a teacher recruitment crisis and I’m sure many women like me are leaving the profession because of the cost of nursery.
“I feel so undervalued by the Government as a mother, as a professional and as a contributing member of society.”
She added: “I worked hard and am experienced and qualified and want to do my job and help children. But the fact that childcare is impacting us so heavily financially makes it impossible for female teachers.
“All of the women I know in my age bracket who have left teaching have either left because of the cost of childcare or the inflexibility of the job when it comes to things like picking up your own kids from school or taking them to appointments.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said: “The UK has some of the highest costs for childcare in the world, and coupled with significant levels of pay erosion, it is of serious concern that many teachers cannot afford to access childcare.
“In teaching, the high cost of childcare and the lack of flexible working and hybrid working opportunities are key factors contributing to the ongoing teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
“Any childcare system which is driving workers out of their jobs due to affordability is clearly failing both parents and employers.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The lack of high quality accessible and affordable childcare means that many parents across the teaching workforce are having to choose between their career and their children.
“The Government isn’t properly funding maintained nurseries or addressing the staffing crisis in early years provision.
“Rather than increasing funding for early years providers and subsidising the cost of childcare in the UK, the Government is proposing to reduce current adult-to-child ratios. Access to childcare is getting harder for many parents.
“Teachers’ pay has also been eroded in real terms over recent years and this means the high cost of childcare is a real practical worry for teachers, who are predominantly women.”
The largest cohort to leave education last year was women aged 30 to 39, according to Schools Workforce Census data from the Department for Education.
The figures show that in total, 8,965 women aged 30 to 39 left the classroom – 900 more than the total of both women aged under 25 and those aged 25 to 29 combined, and over 2,000 more than women aged 40 to 49.
Although the figures don’t break down in detail the exact reasons for leaving, even after excluding deaths and retirements, 8,934 female teachers aged 30 to 39 left – and childcare costs are believed to be a factor.
Lauren Fabianski, head of campaigns at Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “Our crumbling childcare sector continues to push new families into debt and onto benefits – work does not pay when you have a young child.
“Mothers are leaving the workforce or reducing the hours that they work because of the eye watering cost of childcare.
“Women can’t pay to work – it just doesn’t make sense, and as a result we are losing talent from the workforce and depriving children of essential early years education in childcare settings.
“The sector needs immediate investment and an ambitious workforce strategy if we are to prevent further deterioration, leaving families in a mess.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We remain committed to supporting working parents, including teachers.
“That’s why we are rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, expanding 30 free hours of childcare for working parents saving them up to an average of £6,500 per year.
“This is on top of an ambitious programme of work to support teachers, including the recently announced pay award as well as resources to help schools to address workload issues, prioritise staff wellbeing and introduce flexible working practices.”