Teachers having to work 12 hour days and weekends as well!

Welcome to reality.

Well, people do. Anything else I can assist you with?

I know plenty of employed city workers who dream of just a 12 hour day.

I'd say because they're being driven out by two major factors, of which both The Conservative and Labour governments have been guilty of.

1) Over extended responsibilities in terms of work. Teachers have a ridiculous work load, especially in terms of fulfilling paper work requirements created by issue 2

2) The politicization of Teaching. Since the 80s revamp of education, there has been an increasingly subversion of the idea of teaching as a means of education, towards the idea of teaching as a means of political campaigning, resulting in lower engagement for teachers in actual education, higher emphasis of schools and councils on exam results and increasing beauracracy for teachers. Most teachers will finish working between 8-10pm most nights during the week, if they're lucky (which results in the next issue

3) The hours. Teachers hours are f**king absurd, with the 10 hour day being normal during term time (bear in mind some teachers won't get paid for periods of school holidays). Meanwhile the actual qualification standard for teaching is very high, and often on a par with postgraduate achievements. Whilst teaching pay isn't particularly bad, it is when a) you count the hours required by ofsted, marking, lesson preparation and so on. Secondly, the private market offers a vast potential of assorting teaching and training alternatives, often for less hours, more money and flexible holiday as well as more stimulation.

You can earn 30k a teacher, working 50-60 hours a week, with fixed holidays, with a post graduate qualification, degree and years of experience. Or you can earn 300 a day as a trainer for a private company, enjoy working with small groups of adults who want to learn, rather than 30 hormone filled f**ktards who think they're special.

4) Stimulation - The politicization of education has essentially reduced a teacher to the role of someone who instructs based on a set national ciriculum. The freedom to 'inspire and engage intellectually with the task of teaching' has been reduced to an absolute minimum.

Indeed teaching, is increasingly about 'Tables and funding' not educating children, and that is a tragedy.

Ignoring the fact of an 'open door immigration policy' doesn't exist (presumably you mean the EU freedom of movement) for the moment.

Yes, they are the people responsible, as they're in charge of education and part of the British government. Blaming the migrants, is a cop out. EU legistlation is a part of the UK government commitments, which they are required to fulfill and facilitate.

Its not like this is a new policy either, its around 10 years old. If they wanted to fund education and teaching they could have, just as New Labour could have done something, but in reality they do what all governments of my lifetime have done in regard to Education, nothing of substance, and a lot of posturing and posing, and then make sure the results of exams are 'high' (after all the business of universities is now hungry for tuition fees).

Labour were s**t on education, and the Conservatives have been no better. Neither really care, they want your vote, and will do what business interests tell them they want, and get you to blame the 'Jews'.

But it's not the reason for so many quitting.
Had a friend from a school I once worked in on the phone to me just now in tearstears. She said she's at breaking point . Fed up with the hours, constant scrutiny and criticisms. It's a shame because she is genuinely a fantastic teacher who the kids adore.