British teachers are quitting their jobs in droves in search of the good life abroad, enjoying less stress, more money and a better lifestyle – as a classroom crisis looms back home.
Teaching vacancies are at a record high and recruitment firms are cashing in on the shortage, making millions by placing ‘unqualified’ supply teachers or ‘cover supervisors’ into classrooms on rates even lower than full-time teachers would earn.
One senior state school secondary teacher with 15 years’ experience who recently moved to a job in a private school in the Far East told how ‘cost of living, workload, challenging behaviour from children and a massive amount of stress’ were factors in driving teachers away from the profession in the UK.
‘The pandemic changed things for many parents and children and you’ve ended up with some children who just aren’t socialised because they missed out on key stages of learning to get along with their peers.
‘Their development is impaired. ‘In some cases you’ve also got parents who expect teachers to take on some of the roles which rightly should be theirs. And if you don’t do it, who else is going to?’
Social media is full of images of teachers showing exotic lifestyles in Dubai, Australia and the Far East.
‘I felt I was giving everything to the job and getting nothing back while working hours I’d be paid a fortune to do in industry,’ said the 46-year-old teacher from the south of England.
‘I wanted to save money to buy a house for me and my family but it was never going to happen while working in a state school in England.
‘But it’s not just money. At the weekend you can go off and snorkel-dive with turtles. We couldn’t even afford swimming lessons for the kids in Britain.
‘My children can go to the same private school where I teach, which we could never afford back home.’
Former teacher Ruth Harron, 44, from Belfast, worked in a school in the UAE between 2008 and 2010, then set up her own business, recruiting others, called Teachers in UAE.
‘They love the Brits and the Irish and we get 50 strong candidates enquiring each week, with many of them recruited throughout the year’, she said.
With tax-free incomes, most teachers will receive double their UK salaries each month, often with rent-free accommodation, paid utility bills and flights home.
But Ruth says it’s not just the money or the climate that lure people there.
‘The push factors include overwork and stress in the UK, the cost of living and sometimes a lack of respect for teachers from students and parents,’ she said.
‘Teachers in the UK aren’t allowed to say boo to a goose when they are faced with challenging behaviour, but in the UAE, you’re backed up by colleagues if you’re faced with difficult classroom management situations – and it just doesn’t happen as often.
‘Teachers are held in some esteem in the UAE, and they’re treated well.
‘There’s extra pay if you organise after-school activities and you’re encouraged to do your planning work during gaps in the day when the children learn Arabic and Islamic studies, so you don’t have much work to take home.’
Among others extoling the virtues of working in Dubai is primary teacher and YouTuber Thomas Blakemore, 27.
He told his 48k subscribers how his main reason for leaving the UK was for a better lifestyle, but also cited politics and parents.
Some parents wanted him to ‘be a parent, rather than a teacher and that’s not my job.’
He also told of the frustrations of applying for education, health and care plan for three children in his class only to have two of them rejected ‘multiple times,’ despite gathering huge amounts of evidence.
Other ex-pat teachers display their enviable situations on social media, such as Jennifer Connor, seen on a boat trip in the Gulf. The Liverpool Hope University graduate has worked in the UK and Dubai with 15 years of experience in teaching.
British teacher Laila Ahadpour posts scenic shots of herself in Dubai on Instagram under the handle Diary of a Dubai Teacher. She’s been teaching Foundation Stage 2 children there aged between four and five for the last six years.
As well as showing off the work of her class, she has also run an online course for her 3,700 followers to help them make the transition to Dubai.
Scottish ex-pat ‘Miss K’ Sullivan posts frequently on Instagram showing her 9,000 followers glimpses of her life, from the classroom to the gym and in the pool.
Two years ago, she vented at trolls who commented on her page suggesting teaching was an easy life and one said: ‘aren’t you just babysitting?’
When she posted some of their comments, the clip went viral, and she won support from many other teachers around the world.
Francesca Mancilla has over 13 years’ experience in the UK and Dubai and her social media shows her enjoying life to the full in the Middle East. She is now back in the UK working as an advisory teacher in West Sussex.
Sadie Landau is in her 11th year of teaching and posts on Instagram under the handle London Primary Teacher, but she’s also worked in Qatar and now Dubai, where her social media shows her exploring the desert by bicycle and swimming in the Gulf against the stunning Dubai backdrop.
French and Spanish teacher Sian Hayes taught in London and Lancashire before moving to Dubai two years ago. Her posts show her enjoying life in the emirate, including the Dubai Miracle Garden.
Back home in Britain, the number and rate of teacher vacancies is at its highest level since 2010, when comparable records begin.
Vacancies have more than doubled in the past three years, to 2,800 in November 2023, or six empty posts per 1,000 teachers in service.
Almost a third of those teachers who qualified five years ago have left the profession.
One former teacher is Joanna Stewart, 27, who began her probationary year in 2021 in a primary school in the south of Scotland.
‘I do know a lot of teachers that have had issues with children’s behaviour,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard stories of attacks with scissors and chairs and all sorts. I personally haven’t had any abuse from kids.
‘With the children I taught there was a range of extra needs such as mental health issues, extra diagnoses such as ADHD and of course social issues.
‘The real challenge wasn’t so much the children, but the lack of support in terms of no teaching assistants or SEN support in schools to give those that need it the help.
‘I found the anxiety built up every week because I wasn’t being given the right guidance and the atmosphere in the staff room was pretty toxic as well. I heard other teachers making derogatory comments behind my back.
‘I think with the right support I could have gritted my teeth and got through it.
‘There were four different levels of ability within the class so I had to tailor each piece of work four different ways and mark it accordingly, and the same with homework. Then there’s the pastoral stuff.
‘After a few weeks I began to get stomach pains because of stress and I handed my notice in half-way through the term and left at Christmas.
‘I don’t think I’ll go back to teaching and my plan at the moment is to home-school my son when the time comes. I don’t want him growing up in an environment like that.
‘I understand why so many teachers are leaving the UK. I know quite a lot of people who’ve gone to Dubai and a few to Australia, it’s mostly about the workload, but also lifestyle and money.’
Since going on maternity leave, Joanna has become a content creator, giving mums a voice on her YouTube channel @JoannaStewart, discussing ‘motherhood, fitness, teaching and the environment’ among other things.
In many deprived areas, or schools which have a bad reputation, the number of vacancies is disproportionately higher than average.
Often posts are filled temporarily by private recruitment agencies, with the number almost doubling in three years to 3,400 in 2023.
While headhunting companies make huge profits and can pay their consultants salaries of up to £100,000 a year, the schools are so desperate to attract staff that for some roles they demand no teaching experience whatsoever, stipulating only a DBS check, the right to work in the UK and two references.
While state schools legally require teachers to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), that is not the case with academy or independent schools.
But state schools do take on many ‘cover supervisors’ who do not hold QTS, but will nonetheless be in charge of classrooms.
One of the many firms in the crowded market is Connex Education Partnership, which also provides staff for health and social care.
Latest accounts show Connex, which is registered in Chester, made £10.1 million in 2022, almost double the £5.2 million it made 12 months earlier, taking into account money owed to it by customers.
The firm is owned by Bluestones Investment Group limited, also in Chester.
Its latest financial report shows it brought in more than £113 million in 2022, up from just over £80 million the previous year.
But its profit for 2022 was £3.2 million, down slightly from the £3.5 million it made a year prior.
A rival operator, Prospero Group and its subsidiary Prospero Learning Ltd, has made big inroads into the education sector in recent years – as well as health and social care.
Between 2022 and last year, Prospero Group’s turnover went up 47 per cent to £103 million, while its gross profit leapt by 68 per cent to £31.6 million.
The firm posts many adverts for ‘unqualified’ staff for schools, from supply teachers, PE teachers, English teachers, teaching assistants and, of course, ‘cover supervisors’.
Salary rates are not always advertised, but daily pay appears to start at around £90 for teaching assistants.
A spokesperson for the Prospero Group told MailOnline: ‘Prospero provides its clients with staff who are compliant with all regulations. Each is fully vetted and trained in all aspects of the job including safeguarding.
‘Prospero runs its own accredited training and development department which undertakes, at no cost to staff, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for public sector workers.
‘Teacher and staff shortages in other industries following Covid lock downs increased the demand in the UK and globally for our services across all sectors.
‘We do place a number of teachers in schools who, while not having yet attained UK qualifications, do have international qualifications and significant overseas teaching experience.
‘Given current teacher shortages, schools are willing to take them on and to train them on the job whilst they attain their UK qualifications. They also undertake many of the DfE programmes, and our own CPD accredited programmes. Simultaneously they provide an urgently needed and valuable teaching resource to schools.’
MailOnline has contacted Bluestones for comment.