I didn’t come into teaching because the profession found me, I came into it because I realised - quite suddenly - that the career I was in wasn’t giving me the space to be the leader I wanted to become.

At the time, I was working for one of the “Big Four” accountancy firms with a good salary and clear career path.

However, a leadership course that pushed us to think honestly about our potential, our purpose and the kind of work that makes us feel alive struck harder than I expected.

Changing the story about teaching

Through powerful storytelling, it made me think about things differently. I decided I wanted to do something that mattered and, for me, that meant teaching and inspiring a love of geography.

The reaction from colleagues surprised me. Many admired what they saw as a brave decision, given the difference in earnings, and several said they wished they’d had the confidence to do the same.

I was focused on the long‑term value of a teaching career, and it struck me that if more people saw the whole package, more might feel brave enough to choose teaching, too. That long‑term value is the message I’ve championed ever since.

As the education sector continues to grapple with recruitment challenges, how I came to this realisation feels more relevant than ever.

Teaching has a problem not because the work isn’t meaningful - it absolutely is - but because the profession has struggled to tell its own story.

Profound human impact

The profession is struggling to cut through. We talk about staff shortages, workload, inspections and retention more than any other profession - and these are issues that we should raise.

But we don’t talk enough about the profound human impact, intellectual stimulation and creative autonomy that make teaching one of the most socially transformative careers available.

Teaching has always been a profession built on purpose, belief and the impact one adult can have on a child’s life. That hasn’t changed.

Since switching career, I have not had a day when I’ve not wanted to come into work. Inspiring young minds has been key to what motivates me as a teacher and as a leader.

One highlight was helping two students to win a 10-day trip to the Arctic in a national competition. They are in their thirties now and both have careers in sustainability.

Teaching is one of those rare professions that allows us to witness the legacy we leave behind, see the differences we make and help to enhance the life chances of others: “Teach… because it gives your life meaning.”

However, across the country you can feel a shift - schools, and particularly academy trusts, are stepping into a bigger role, shaping a new sense of confidence and clarity around what the profession represents as a career.

If we want exceptional people to choose teaching - particularly in the South East, where London’s economic opportunities sit alongside coastal communities facing significant disadvantage - we must make the profession clearer and more compelling.

A profession rooted in ambition

We need to tell a story that resonates not only with trainees but also with the families and communities who shape young people’s aspirations.

At Beyond Schools Trust, our newly rebranded teacher training partnership - Teach…Beyond - is trying to do exactly that by articulating to anyone who may be considering teaching as a profession that it is built on purpose and legacy.

We want to stimulate people to think about the subjects they love and show them that through teaching they could shape how their subject is perceived, and how it can have impact.

We are also reframing teaching as a profession that is rooted in ambition, which attracts ambitious people. Our hope is that other providers will join us in driving home these messages and help to reposition our profession.

At the heart of it all are two simple ideas that I think we all share:

• Every child deserves someone who believes in them.
• Every school deserves confidence in those who walk into its classrooms.
   

We don’t simply need more teachers, we also need more people to see teaching differently. People like me - career-changers who will eventually find the profession - but also those who haven’t yet seen themselves in it.

If we want to attract those people, we need a different kind of storytelling. One rooted in purpose, possibility and truth, because teaching doesn’t just change lives, it shapes the future - and that is a story worth telling properly.

Teach…and see teaching differently.

Andrew Minchin is CEO of Beyond Schools Trust, a multi-academy trust with 10 schools in Kent