Lucy Kellaway, the founder of the charity Now Teach, is at the helm of a new, thrilling endeavor. Her goal is to draw people of 40 years and older to teaching jobs. This move comes in response to the growing teacher shortages that schools across the North East of England are currently facing. Government data indicates the 40-and-older demographic is booming. For the third year in a row, they are the biggest cohort of trainees!
Kellaway, whose short bob of grey hair matches her very British umbrella, underscores the issue with a call for reform in recruitment practices. We’ve historically approached that the right way by trying to recruit teachers fresh out of education themselves,” she said. As more people reassess their career priorities post-COVID, Kellaway believes tapping into the experience of older individuals could provide a solution to the ongoing crisis.
Schools in areas such as Darlington have already seen a real 12% reduction in teacher heads. At the same time, places like Redcar, Hartlepool and North Tyneside have already suffered cuts, with some falling by more than 7%. Unfortunately, this trend has exacerbated staffing shortages for most educational institutions, causing many to simply grind to a halt. Overall teacher numbers have declined in almost 50 percent of the local authorities across the region. It’s no small thing, this decline—a trend that’s continued over the last five years.
Among those who have transitioned from different careers is Lucy Fenny, who taught for 12 years in primary schools on Teesside. Fenny enjoyed her years in education, but she knew it was time for a shift. She decided to take the plunge and launch her own beauty business, based from her home in Stokesley. It was a pretty bold, scary thing to do but thankfully my family had my back,” she recounted.
Although it was a tough decision to leave, Fenny has not looked back on her decision with regret. She acknowledged the difficulties involved in giving up the security that teaching provided, saying it was “petrifying giving up a pension, sick pay, holiday pay, all of that.” She’s experienced no loss of energy and fulfillment in having made her new move. “I have so much more energy than I would have sitting in the office all day,” she said.
Amelia Joicey, a career changer. She felt the lure of home and wanted to take her practice to Ashington—so she trained as a teacher and teacher-artist. She found support from her family during her decision-making process and expressed enthusiasm for her new role.
Andrew Hutchinson taught secondary school for 15 years before joining K-STE. He readily admitted that he struggled with mental health — a mental health developed by the intense stressors within his male dominated field. “I mean, you never got any time that you were just like having a typical week,” he thought. He shared how as time went on, it was difficult to integrate his role and responsibilities while taking care of his family. “As my wife says, I’m almost a completely different person,” he continued. Hutchinson eventually departed from teaching in order to take back his health and have more meaningful time with his family.
Despite bouncing back somewhat during 2022, schools in the North East still face the ongoing challenge of attracting qualified teachers under these new circumstances. As older individuals like Fenny and Joicey step into new roles, Kellaway’s initiative may provide the necessary boost to alleviate teacher shortages in the region.
