The Teaching Commission’s recent discussions once again highlight a truth long recognised across the profession: teachers thrive when they are supported by sustained, high‑quality professional learning, a culture of belonging, and working conditions that enable them to stay and grow. Yet the system too often relies on individual resilience rather than collective responsibility. This is why the Commission’s work sits so powerfully alongside initiatives such as Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) Decentring the resilient teacher project, which challenges the narrative that teachers must simply ‘cope better’, instead calling for structural conditions that allow them to flourish.

On 12th March, we brought together teachers, leaders and sector experts in Manchester to explore the Teaching Commission’s recommendations, and a central question: What next for the teaching profession? The conversation was rich, challenging and hopeful – reflecting a profession deeply committed to shaping a more sustainable, equitable future for teaching.

Across the Manchester roundtable, three clear themes emerged: professional learning; representation and belonging; and recruitment and retention. Each theme reveals both the profession’s promise and the systemic barriers that continue to hold the profession back.

Professional learning that is meaningful, contextual and valued

Participants reflected on the ongoing ambiguity around what constitutes ‘effective CPD’. Some felt that if someone is undertaking CPD then it should feel like it meets their professional need, whether that be practical support, research engagement or theory. This aligns closely with the Chartered College of Teaching’s mission to champion research‑informed, practitioner‑centred professional learning.

Yet the barriers remain familiar: time, funding, staffing pressures and external accountability demands. Teachers are eager to learn, but too often they lack the protected space to do so meaningfully. The idea of regular, paid CPD time was welcomed, though participants raised important questions: How do we ensure this time is purposeful? Will online learning be valued as highly as in‑person collaboration? How do we recognise self‑directed study, reading and reflective practice?

The decline in subject‑specific CPD, particularly in understaffed schools, was a significant concern. When teachers lose access to deep subject pedagogy, pupils lose out too. Schools that embed CPD into their culture, through coaching, collaboration and shared inquiry, demonstrate what is possible, but this is far from universal.

Representation, belonging and the conditions for equity

The discussion also explored how to ensure the teaching workforce reflects the communities it serves. While representation has improved, with teachers from global majority backgrounds rising from 1% in 2014 to 4% in 2024, leadership diversity remains strikingly low, and the measures show the disparity between the pupil population and that of serving teachers. Participants emphasised that systemic change, not tokenistic gestures, is needed.

Networks such as REND and WomenEd were praised for creating safe spaces for leaders to share experiences, but these must be complemented by structural levers: equitable recruitment practices, accountability frameworks and racial literacy training. Dress codes, presenteeism and narrow visions of ‘professionalism’ were highlighted as subtle but powerful barriers. The prevailing image of leadership – often white, male and always-at-work – signals to many that they do not belong.

The Commission’s recommendations, including mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting and racial literacy training, were seen as essential steps toward a more equitable profession.

Recruitment, retention and the value of staying in the classroom

While recruitment challenges persist, participants were clear: retention is the real crisis. Teachers are not leaving because they lack passion; they are leaving because the system makes it difficult to sustain a long‑term career. Support for working parents, flexible working, meaningful ECT mentoring, and recognition of the classroom teacher as a valued long‑term role were all identified as priorities.

While it is vital that we address the barriers to leadership, we also need a range of different pathways for career development. The Chartered College of Teaching continues to champion a profession where expertise is recognised, where teachers can build fulfilling careers without being pushed into leadership, and where professional learning is a right, not a luxury.

Towards a profession that thrives, not survives

The Manchester event reinforced a powerful message: resilience should not be a burden borne solely by individuals. It should be a systemic outcome of supportive cultures, equitable structures and meaningful professional learning. The insights from MMU’s Decentring the Resilient Teacher project echo this, urging us to rethink the conditions in which teachers work and learn.

If we are serious about rebuilding teaching as a high‑status, sustainable profession, then we must invest in the people at its heart – not through slogans or short‑term fixes, but through long‑term commitment to professional growth, representation and retention.

This is the work of the profession, and work that we all must be part of.