“How can we empower teachers to rediscover the joy of teaching?”. This was the question posed to a panel of education experts, which included OneSchool Global’s own Global Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Selina Samuels.
OSG were delighted to host the event at the UK Labour Party Conference held in Liverpool on 24 September 2024. The expert panel was chaired by Tiffany Beck OBE, PLMR Agency’s Head of Education, and alongside Dr. Samuels, featured former Labour Schools Minister, Lord Jim Knight, James Zucullo, Director of Schools Workforce at the Education Policy Institute, and Jack Worth, Lead Economist for the National Foundation for Educational Research.
The panel focused on the challenge of teacher recruitment and retention as a paramount issue facing schools in the UK and across the globe.
Public sector funding cuts and declining real-term wages have seen large numbers of teachers leave the profession, and fewer new teachers joining it, causing many schools across the UK to struggle to fill their vacancies. As a result, many teachers have lost the joy of teaching, with teachers experiencing burnout as they continue to feel the enduring effects and consequences of the pandemic.
The panelists discussed the innovative solutions needed to overcome these challenges, with a focus on how we can empower teachers to rediscover the joy of the profession. This includes embracing technological developments in the classroom and taking a new approach to flexible ways of working to help enhance the life-work balance for teachers.
“Teaching is a fulfilling and rewarding profession that makes tangible differences to the lives of individual students, and to our society more broadly”, said Dr. Samuels.
“I truly believe that teachers can rediscover the joy of teaching, and discussions like these among government and education leaders are an important part of determining solutions to the challenges teachers face today”.
Experience the Joy of Teaching at OneSchool Global, visit our employment pages to find out more about opportunities across over 120 campuses in 20 countries.