For teachers in the UK
If you are thinking about leaving teaching in the UK, check your notice date first: under the national conditions of service most maintained schools in England and Wales follow (the Burgundy Book), a classroom teacher who wants to leave at the end of August must resign by 31 May, and a headteacher by 30 April. Miss the date and you usually stay another term. After that, the real choice is not “teaching or not teaching” but which part of the job you want to keep.
This guide is for classroom teachers, middle leaders, SENCOs and headteachers in the UK who are weighing up whether to go: the dates that decide when you can leave, the latest official figures, the main routes out of the classroom, and one option for staying in education while working in a different way.
In this article
How many teachers are leaving teaching in England
You are not unusual. The Department for Education’s School workforce in England statistics, published in June 2026, count teachers in state-funded schools each November. They show that 38,600 full-time equivalent (FTE) qualified teachers left the state-funded sector in 2024/25. That is about 1 in 12 (8.5%) of all qualified teachers, and 2,100 fewer than the 40,700 who left in 2023/24.
The same release says 91% of those leavers left for reasons other than retirement, for example a change of career or a move to another part of UK education. Retention falls with time: 89.7% of teachers who qualified in 2024 were still teaching a year later, but only 67.4% of those who qualified five years ago, and 57.7% of those who qualified ten years ago.
Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England, reporting year 2025 (published 4 June 2026). Figures cover state-funded schools in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own statistics.
Leaving is a normal career event, not a failure. And because entrants still outnumber leavers (by 2,400 FTE in the latest year), the door back stays open: the DfE’s Teaching Vacancies service runs a guide for teachers returning after a break.
When can you leave? Teacher notice dates
Most teachers cannot leave whenever they like. The Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales, known as the Burgundy Book, is the national agreement between local authority employers and the teacher unions. The edition published by the Local Government Association says that all teachers are under a minimum of two months’ notice, three months’ in the summer term, ending at the end of a term. Headteachers are under three months’ notice, and four months’ in the summer term. For this purpose the terms end on 31 December, 30 April and 31 August.
Counting back from those dates gives the deadlines below.
| You leave on | Classroom teachers and middle leaders: resign by | Headteachers: resign by |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December (end of autumn term) | 31 October (two months) | 30 September (three months) |
| 30 April (end of spring term) | 28 February, or 29 February in a leap year (two months) | 31 January (three months) |
| 31 August (end of summer term) | 31 May (three months) | 30 April (four months) |
Check your own contract and your union. The Burgundy Book applies where your contract adopts it, which is common in maintained schools. Academies, multi-academy trusts, free schools and independent schools can set their own terms, and many contracts differ in detail. Teachers employed on a day-to-day basis, such as many supply teachers, are outside these provisions. Read the notice clause in your contract, and if anything is unclear ask your union rep before you resign. A school can also agree to release you early, but that is its choice, not your right.
This is why “leaving teaching mid year” usually means leaving at Christmas or at Easter, not in the middle of a term. If you need to leave sooner for health or family reasons, talk to your headteacher and your union early: an agreed early release is far easier to arrange than a dispute.
Before you hand in your notice: a checklist
Resigning is hard to undo. Work through these first, ideally a term before your deadline.
- What exactly do you want to stop? Marking, behaviour, data, Ofsted pressure, leadership, the hours, a particular school? Some of these end if you change school, phase or role; others only end if you leave the classroom.
- What do you want to keep? Explaining things, working with SEND pupils, knowing families, building a team? Your next job should be built around this.
- Have you asked about flexibility? Part-time hours, a job share or stepping down from a TLR are sometimes possible. The DfE’s own figures show 6.2% of qualified teachers reduced their hours in the latest year.
- How many months can you live on? Work out your monthly costs and how long savings would last if your next income starts slowly.
- What happens to your pension? Ask Teachers’ Pensions or an independent adviser about your own record.
- Are you allowed to start something alongside your job? Check your contract for any rules on outside work before you begin tutoring, consulting or a service contract while still employed.
Leaving teaching: what can I do next?
Most lists of “jobs for ex-teachers” run to fifty titles. In practice, teachers in the UK who stay close to education tend to choose among five routes. The table compares them by what carries over from your teaching and what you should check before you commit.
| Route | What the work is | What carries over | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutoring (private or through an agency) | One-to-one or small-group teaching, often exam subjects, online or in person | Subject knowledge, exam specifications, knowing where pupils get stuck | Income is uneven across the year; you find your own clients or accept agency rates; safeguarding and DBS expectations still apply |
| Supply teaching | Day-to-day or longer cover in schools, usually through an agency | Everything: it is still teaching, with less planning and no leadership duties | Pay and days are not guaranteed; check how the agency pays you and whether national conditions apply to your contract |
| EdTech and education companies | Curriculum design, customer success, training schools on a product, sales to schools | Knowing how schools buy, what teachers actually use, and how to explain things simply | Many roles are commercial; ask how success is measured before you accept |
| Alternative provision | Education for pupils who are not in mainstream school, often commissioned by schools or councils | Behaviour, SEND and pastoral experience; work with families | Registration and commissioning rules; read our guide to how to set up alternative provision |
| Starting your own school | An independent school, a specialist SEN school or a small setting | Leadership, curriculum, Ofsted knowledge if you are a senior leader | DfE registration, premises and finance; see how to set up an independent school in the UK and how to set up an independent SEN school |
This table describes types of work, not pay. Earnings vary widely by region, subject and contract, and we do not quote figures we cannot verify.
Leaving education entirely? Write down three things you did last year that you were proud of, such as running a department budget or leading a SEND review, and the skill behind each. Those are the lines an employer outside schools understands. For a wider list, see jobs for former teachers.
Leaving teaching after 1 year, or mid-career
The point at which you leave changes the question you should ask yourself.
| When | The honest question | A useful next step |
|---|---|---|
| After 1 year | Is it teaching, or is it this school and this first year? | Ask about your induction status before you go, and talk to someone who changed school in their second year |
| After 3 to 10 years | Do I want less of the job, or a different job? | Try a term of part-time or a side role (tutoring, exam marking, a service contract) before resigning |
| Headteacher | Do I still want to lead, just not here, or not like this? | Remember your longer notice period; consider roles where you build something new |
The DfE retention figures show that about 1 in 10 new teachers (10.3% of the 2024 cohort) are no longer teaching in state-funded schools a year after qualifying, and that the losses continue over the following decade. If you are leaving after one year, most of your cohort is staying. That can still be the right call, but it is worth testing whether a different school would change it.
Want to keep working in education, but on your own terms?
NIJIN, an education company in Japan, is looking for one person to start and lead NIJIN Academy UK as Country Head: its business head and its principal. You can begin on a service contract, alongside your current work, and decide later whether to become a co-owner. Teaching experience is not required, but leading a team is.
See the Country Head role in the UKStay in education, change how you work
Many teachers who leave do not want to stop helping children; they want to stop working inside a system that is not working, for them or for some pupils. The DfE’s pupil absence statistics show the scale: in 2024/25, 1.34 million pupils in England (18.1%) missed 10% or more of their sessions, up from 10.9% in 2018/19, and 176,000 were severely absent, missing half or more. Severe absence is about four times as common among pupils with SEND. Behind many of these numbers is emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA): children who want to learn, but whose anxiety keeps them away from the school building.
NIJIN Academy was built in Japan for those children. It is an alternative school, opened in September 2023, run by NIJIN Inc. Its founder, Tatsuro Hoshino, left the classroom after seven years as a public elementary school teacher. Children attend from home through a metaverse campus, choose from about 100 small, live online classes a month, and can also go to physical classrooms across Japan.
Figures are those published by NIJIN. “Attendance recognition” means the child’s registered school counts learning at NIJIN Academy as school attendance.
In 2026 NIJIN was selected for the UK course of X-HUB TOKYO, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s programme that helps start-ups grow overseas. It is now recruiting three roles in the UK.
| Role | What you would do | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Country Head, NIJIN Academy UK | Start and lead the academy as business head and principal | As a guide, 10% of revenue (excluding tax), capped at JPY 50 million; start on a service contract or as a co-owner |
| Local Government Partnerships (UK) | Build partnerships with councils on attendance, SEND and support for young people | Based in the UK; form of engagement and pay are discussed in the interview |
| Partnerships & Business Development (UK) | Build partnerships with companies, education providers, youth and family organisations and EAL specialists | Based in the UK; form of engagement and pay are discussed in the interview |
The point most relevant to teachers: you do not have to resign first. NIJIN’s recruitment page says you can start the Country Head role on a service contract, even as a side job alongside your current work, and decide later whether to become a co-owner of a local company. Investment is optional. Either way the compensation guide is the same: 10% of revenue, so JPY 100 million of revenue would give JPY 10 million. It is a guide, not a promise. When there is no revenue, the formula pays nothing. Every other term is discussed in the interview.
This is not a teaching job. It suits a headteacher, deputy, SENCO or middle leader who has led people and recruited carefully, and who wants to build something new. English alone is enough. The full terms are on the NIJIN Academy UK Country Head page.
Questions and answers
Can I leave teaching mid year?
Usually you can leave at the end of a term, not in the middle of one. Under the Burgundy Book, a classroom teacher gives two months’ notice to leave on 31 December or 30 April, and three months’ to leave on 31 August. Academies and independent schools may have different terms, so check your contract and your union. Your school may agree to release you earlier, but it does not have to.
Leaving teaching: what can I do?
The most common routes that use your experience directly are tutoring, supply teaching, EdTech and education companies, alternative provision and starting your own school. Leadership experience also opens roles in which you build an organisation, such as NIJIN’s Country Head role in the UK.
Are there leaving teaching jobs in the UK that do not involve a timetable?
Yes. Roles in education companies, councils, trusts and charities often use teaching and leadership experience without classroom teaching. NIJIN’s two UK roles, Local Government Partnerships and Partnerships & Business Development, are examples; their terms are discussed in the interview.
Is leaving teaching after 1 year a mistake?
Not necessarily. The DfE’s figures show 89.7% of teachers who qualified in 2024 were still teaching a year later, so you would be in a smaller group. Ask first whether a different school or phase would change things, and check where you stand on induction.
Can I try the Country Head role while I am still teaching?
NIJIN says you can start on a service contract, even as a side job alongside your current work. Check your employment contract for rules on outside work first. Compensation is, as a guide, 10% of revenue and is not guaranteed.
Leaving the classroom does not have to mean leaving education
If you have led a team and want to build a school for children who do not fit school, read the Country Head role for the UK. You can start on a service contract, alongside your current work.
See the Country Head role in the UKWhere to go next
The UK page includes the two partnership roles. The global page covers every other country, and our English careers page lists everything else we are working on.
Related guides
- Jobs for former teachers
- The global teacher shortage: causes and solutions
- How to set up alternative provision
- How to set up an independent school in the UK
- How to set up an independent SEN school in the UK
- Country Head: what the role means
- Country manager in education: the role and three pay models
Sources
All figures in this article are quoted with the year they refer to. Please check the original for later updates. Notice terms depend on your own contract.
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england
- https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/download-burgundy-book-pd-853.pdf
- https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england
- https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/jobseeker-guides/return-to-teaching-in-england/return-to-teaching/
- https://nijin.co.jp/recruit/nijin-academy-uk-country-head/
- https://nijin.co.jp/recruit/en/