TEACHERS in Lancashire are bucking the national trend for taking early retirement.

Thousands of staff across the country are leaving the profession this year after the last government changed the rules surrounding pensions for teachers wanting to leave early.

But Lancashire is expecting a drop in the numbers quitting this academic year.

Provisional figures for September, 1996, to August, 1997, show 203 will take early retirement with 60 voluntary redundancies.

Last year 242 took early retirement and 182 voluntary redundancy.

A Lancashire County Council spokeswoman said: "We obviously have a very loyal teaching staff."

Concern over the number of heads and deputy heads leaving the profession has been raised at this week's National Association of Head Teachers' conference in Scarborough. General secretary David Hart said there had been an alarming increase in those opting to leave early.

He said: "We now know just how damaging the previous government's changes to the Teachers' Pensions Scheme have been.

"There would, in any case, have been some increase in the number of heads and deputy heads leaving prematurely but the last government made matters very much worse.

"As a consequence, many schools will have acting heads in posts next year because recruitment into headship was already in a parlous state.

"This cannot help the drive for higher standards which the new government is spearheading."

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