BRITAIN’S biggest education union is warning of a “tragic loss of staffing talent” as about one sixth of teachers say they plan to quit the austerity-hit profession in the next two years.

More than four in 10 – 41 per cent – think they will go by 2028 due to falling take-home pay and mounting workload pressures, according to research by the National Education Union (NEU). 

Its findings — published on the penultimate day of the union’s annual conference in Harrogate — “come as no surprise, but this doesn’t prevent it being a tragedy and a waste of talent,” joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said.