Parliamentary roundtable highlights urgent need for teacher retention strategy
Education Support hosted a parliamentary roundtable to launch its new teacher retention policy paper, urging Government action on a national strategy to address the ongoing retention crisis.
News 03 November 2025 / 3 mins read
On 5 November Education Support hosted a roundtable at the House of Commons to launch our new policy paper on teacher retention, The event brought together MPs, Government representatives, education sector stakeholders and school leaders to spotlight the urgent need for a national teacher retention strategy.
It was a brilliant opportunity to make the case for a teacher retention strategy, share our recommendations, and to ensure that the voices of educators are heard by key decision-makers who can make change happen.
A huge thank you to Dr Darren Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen, who sponsored our event in Parliament. He is a member of the Education Select Committee, which is an influential group of cross-party MPs in Parliament whose role is to scrutinise and hold to account the work of the Department of Education.
Why does this matter?
While Government action has so far often focused on teacher recruitment, the urgent need for a national teacher retention strategy remains unmet, with the last strategy published before the pandemic in 2019. An ‘ad hoc’ approach and lack of a unified strategy and coherent action on retention risks neglecting the challenges in our classrooms and compromising the future of children and young people’s education.
Great teaching lies at the heart of great education systems. Great education transforms lives. Teacher retention directly affects educational outcomes, social mobility, and workforce sustainability. Our paper ‘Revisiting the teacher retention crisis: recommendations for change’, makes the case for a strategic, system-wide response grounded in the mental health and workplace wellbeing evidence base.
What next?
We will continue to call for Government to introduce a teacher retention strategy in England, with wellbeing at its heart. We look forward to continuing to work together with educators, leaders, stakeholders, and Government to continue this momentum to create hope and change.
Keep your eyes peeled in the New Year for new ways to get involved as we launch a new campaign on teacher retention!
Read more about teacher retention in England and our recommendations for change for Government, employers and school leaders.
Following our 2023 Commission on Teacher Retention, this report outlines our evidence-based solutions to improving teacher retention.
