Numbers of young female teachers may pose issue

The dominance of women around family-rearing ages in teaching could become a major issue for school staffing, a review has found.

The analysis of the Teaching Council register shows that 77% of all 90,000 people eligible to work in schools are women. More than one-third of those 69,000 women are under 34, and another 18% are 35 to 44, and the total is 40% of the profession.

The interim report of the council’s working group on teacher supply says it is clear that a significant proportion of female teachers are at, or approaching, family-rearing age.