We’re on a road to nowhere: Women aged 30–39 – why are they the largest demographic to leave teaching every year?

Emma Sheppard, Founder of MTPT Project, UK Gemma Campbell (CTeach), Teaching and Learning Mentor, Coleg Llandrillo, UK Teacher recruitment, retention and progression are of increasing concern in the profession, as shown on Twitter with the latest NfER data analysis by Jack Worth (2022). The following article provides a snapshot of some of the research undertaken by the MaternityTeacher PaternityTeacher Project. This research specifically focuses on mothers who have left teaching, so does not include experiences of those aged 30 to 39 who are not mothers or mothers who have stayed in teaching. This article reports some of the findings of the mixed method phenomenological study to better understand mothers’ experiences in the education sector and gain an insight via qualitative approaches alongside published figures from government findings. It explores and reviews the comments that fall into the category of professional development opportunities or progression, and in general poi