STATE OF THE PROFESSION 2006-07: * Family comes first for female staff who are postponing their promotion bids l Teachers are retiring early * No one wants to be a headteacher * But new teachers are more confident than ever
The good news
* Number of teachers officially quitting on health grounds is the lowest since 1990.
* New teachers are more positive about their training, and are more confident about handling pupil behaviour and using different teaching styles.
* Eight out of 10 teachers are getting their full allocation of non-teaching time for lesson planning, preparation and assessment.
* Applications for secondary headships are up - on average there are 16 for every post.
* The proportion of teachers who believe continuing professional development is highly valued by their school has risen to 80 per cent.
The bad news
* The number leaving teaching last year is the highest since Labour came to power.
* 38 per cent of teachers say they are likely or very likely to leave state school teaching in the next five years.
* The average number of applications to become a primary school’s headteacher is down to less than five.
* 50 per cent of teachers say they have had no form of equal opportunities training.
* Only 4 per cent of teachers want to be heads within the next five years.
* 7 per cent of teachers say their careers were deliberately blocked, or they have suffered prejudice.
