Support Not Surveillance: How to solve the teacher retention crisis

Book excerpt: Why are so many teachers leaving the profession increasingly early in their careers? What harm is being done to pupils' educational prospects by persistent teacher shortages? Why are teachers held uniquely responsible for the effects of poverty on children’s progress and attainment? What are the unintended consequences of rushed government education policy-making? And what can be done about all of the above? Supported by the latest international and national evidence, Support Not Surveillance seeks to address these important questions. Laying bare how the inadequacy of Westminster policies is compounded by an unfair Ofsted inspection regime, Dr Mary Bousted draws on her years of expertise and access to decision-makers to expose the gap between ministerial rhetoric and the daily reality encountered by teachers in their classrooms across England. Ending on a set of proposals to move beyond the seemingly perennial crisis in teacher recruitment and retention, Support Not Surveillance is an unflinching call to end the failed experiment of government interventionism in classrooms.