Teachers leaving the profession because of 'excessive workloads'

The National Union of Teachers’ (NUT) survey of 16,379 early years, primary and secondary school teachers reveals that nine in ten have considered leaving teaching in the last two years, while 87 per cent know at least one teacher who has left because of their workload.

A further 97 per cent of respondents reported that the amount of work they have to complete effects their family and personal life.

Of these teachers, 92 per cent said their workload had a negative impact on the quality of their family or personal life and 59 per cent said it causes stress in their relationship.

One early years teacher from Cornwall said, ‘I hate the fact that I am sometimes willing my children to go to sleep just so that I can work. It’s not right.’

Respondents were also asked about the causes of their ‘unsustainable’ workloads.

Eight in ten cited excessive expectations on marking work, and seven in ten unrealistic expectations about data entry.

More than 60 per cent of teachers said preparation for an Ofsted inspection, including ‘mocksteds’ caused unsustainable workload demands, 39 per cent too much observation and the same percentage too many Department for Education initiatives.

A teacher who works in a primary school in Trafford said, ‘I am fed up of seeing my colleagues near to breaking point, and there isn’t a week goes by where I don’t see someone crying. This has to stop.’

When considering action to retain staff, 82 per cent said more trust in teachers would help persuade those thinking of leaving to stay in the profession, and 70 per cent reducing the level of scrutiny.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said, ‘This makes for utterly depressing reading and is a clear justification of the NUT’s continuing campaign on teacher workload.

‘Anyone concerned about the education of our children will be alarmed at the low levels of morale and exhaustion within the profession. The secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan needs to address this.

‘Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world, but if politicians continue their current approach we will see many more teachers leaving and those who remain will be worn into the ground.

‘Much of the workload is completely unnecessary and is a result of accountability measures. It is driven from the top by the way politicians and Ofsted run down teachers. Hours spent providing evidence that they are doing their job takes away from the time teachers have for creating exciting and memorable lessons. ‘

She added, ‘If we want to maintain a world class education system, of which politicians often speak, we have to start by making teaching an attractive profession.

‘With a general election around the corner politicians can no longer keep ignoring the crisis happening in our schools. It is now time for politicians to act. They need to take urgent steps to reform accountability so that it is based on trust, and to take immediate action to reduce working hours.’

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said, 'We recognise that teachers can face an unnecessarily high workload with needless bureaucracy stopping them from spending time on the things that make a real difference to their pupils. The Secretary of State has already made clear to unions that we have a common interest in tackling this.
 
'We have already taken a number of decisive steps – cutting over 21,000 pages of guidance, streamlining the inspection process and making it clear that formal written plans are not expected for every lesson.'