What’s the header image today? Find out at the end of the post! First, natural-born teachers, dealing with poor behaviour, improving wellbeing, and the growing use of AI in schools. Natural-born teachers You know how some teachers are just absolute naturals? 84% of you do – that is, 84% of you agreed that ‘Some individuals possess an inherent ability to effectively engage students and manage a classroom, making them naturally adept at teaching.’ (Only 5% of you disagreed.) Are you one of them? We asked you to think back to when you started: did you feel like you were ‘naturally adept at teachi ..read more

Often, when asking questions on Teacher Tapp, our direct interest lies in the precise answers you provide: the percentages selecting each response and any additional comments on the question itself. Yet, the potential of these questions extends beyond mere reporting of answers. At times, they form a vital piece of the puzzle in identifying underlying traits that are challenging to measure. Consider, for instance, the complexities of attachment to teaching and a teacher’s wellbeing. These are complex traits and cannot be sufficiently captured through a single question! One of the strengths of T ..read more

This morning, Teacher Tapp Co-Founder Becky Allen gave evidence to the Education Select Committee on the critical issue of teacher retention. Her testimony incorporated the perspectives of you… our 10,000 Teacher Tappers. So, today’s post highlights some of this important story of the teacher retention crisis that it is important for Members of Parliament, using your valuable data points. Regret and intentions to stay The crux of the issue is evident in our recent findings: Last time we asked, only 59% of you said you expect to be a teacher in three years’ time and this is down from a stable f ..read more

Over the past five years we’ve collected thousands of data points on teachers’ views on recruitment and retention. We’ve told the story of recruitment and retention in lots of ways; in our weekly blogs, in research reports, and in the media. Earlier this year, we submitted written evidence to the Education Select Committe’s inquiry into teacher recruitment, training and retention. We highlighted: The increasing number of teachers saying they would leave teaching if they could find another job on the same salary. The falling number who would still train in their chosen jobs if they could go ba ..read more

When we launched Teacher Tapp six years ago, our goal was to help teachers by giving you – a community now more than 10,000 strong – a way to share what was happening on the ground in schools. Our hypothesis was simple: the more decision makers know about what’s really happening, the easier it is for them to make good decisions.  The impact since then has been remarkable: your voice helps shape education, regularly listened to by policymakers and journalists alike. And the numbers of you who join in, show that you value being part of a community where your contributions amplify teachers ..read more

Keeping it personal As we discussed last month, accessing (or any other work communications) out of school hours is a matter of personal preference, and does not seem to have any direct relationship to workload. But, this sparked a thought… does it make a difference how you access your messages? Over three-quarters of you have access to your emails on your personal mobile device. For some of you, your personal device also allows you to access apps to help with school work (51% of secondary teachers), communicate with parents (27% of primary teachers) and pupils (27% of secondary teachers). Ove ..read more

It’s the end of October, which means it’s cold and a bit grey but also… Teacher Tapp Golden Tickets are back! From the 14th October until the 14th December 2023, for every 30 questions you answer on Teacher Tapp you’ll receive a Golden Ticket for the Teacher Tapp Prize Draw! What’s the prize? Each month you could win: £1,000 cash! One of three Fortnum & Mason hampers Your raffle ticket entry codes are in the ‘Rewards’ section of the app. YOU DON’T NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO REDEEM TICKETS: they are already in your app. But we will put a call out on the prize draw dates f ..read more

YOU are the most important part of Teacher Tapp, and we want to continue saying “thank you” for making such a valuable contribution! From the 14th October until the 14th December 2023, for every 30 questions you answer on Teacher Tapp you’ll receive a Golden Ticket for the Teacher Tapp Prize Draw. What’s the prize? Each month you could win: £1,000 cash! One of three Fortnum & Mason hampers The prize draws will happen on 14th November and 14th December. Don’t worry if you don’t win in November, your tickets are valid for the December draw too! Half-term Around three-qu ..read more

Golden Tickets are back! You are the most important part of Teacher Tapp, and we want to continue saying “thank you” for making such a valuable contribution! From the 14th October until the 14th December 2023, for every 30 questions you answer on Teacher Tapp you’ll receive a Golden Ticket for the Teacher Tapp Prize Draw. There will be TWO prize draws and each month, there will be three prize hampers available. The prize draws will happen on 14th November and 14th December. What do I do with my tickets? Your Golden Tickets show up automatically in your Teacher Tapp app, and you can check your ..read more

It’s that autumn time of year: dark mornings are back, classroom radiators are clanking, and who has started wearing their winter coat? Meanwhile, here at TT towers, we’ve spent our frosty mornings digging into the topic of EMAILS. When we started in 2017 the watchword of the time was workload. A later edu-sec, Damian Hinds was very concerned that emails were a source of extra work for teachers. Was he right? And have things got any better? The Digital Workload of Emails When teachers say emails are causing them workload – do they mean reading or writing the emails? And exactly how much time a ..read more