Teachers working 60 hour weeks ‘being driven out of the profession’, leaked report says
A leaked government report has revealed some teachers are working 60 hours or more a week, with a quarter considering leaving the profession altogether because of the “unacceptable” high workload.
The findings from a survey conducted by the Department for Education (DfE), and seen by Sky News, said eight in ten were working upwards of 40 hours, while 22% worked 60 hours a week or more. The average teacher works just shy of 50 hours a week.
There was also criticism of the current schools inspection regime, with 63% of teachers and leaders saying it did not provide “a fair assessment of school performance”.
Politics latest:
Sunak asked if he’s ‘out of touch’ after heated swimming pool story
The report has been leaked amid an ongoing dispute between teaching unions and the government over pay and conditions.
A fresh offer on pay is being put to members, but the National Education Union (NEU) has recommended rejecting it – saying the one-off payment and 4.5% average rise for next year was “insulting”.
The NEU has also refused to rule out further strike action.
Responding to the leaked report, joint general secretary of the NEU, Kevin Courtney, said it showed the government was not doing enough to fix working conditions for staff, saying it was “driving talented people out of the profession”
‘Too much time on admin’
A total of 11,177 teachers took part in the survey for the DfE’s Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders report – with 5,770 from primary schools, 4,859 from secondary schools and 548 who taught in special schools, pupil referral units or other alternative provisions.
Read more:
Schools to receive guidance on gender issues after ‘concerning report’
Ofsted resists calls to halt school inspections after headteacher’s death
“The aim of the study is to examine issues around teacher supply, recruitment and retention in the teaching and school leadership workforce in England,” the report said.
“The study is intended to help DfE to design policies that better support teachers and leaders, as part of delivering on the commitments set out in the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy and the Schools Whitepaper.”
As well as revealing the long hours worked by teachers, there were high levels of dissatisfaction when it came to workload – 72% said it was “unacceptable”, while 62% said they did not have sufficient control over the levels of work.
And a quarter of those surveyed said they were considering leaving the state school sector in the next 12 months, with 92% of them saying the high workload was the most common reason.
A large proportion of classroom teachers reported spending too much time on other tasks away from teaching, with 75% saying they spent too much time on general admin.
Other reasons for wanting to leave included government initiatives/policy changes (76%), pressure relating to pupil outcomes or inspections (69%) and dissatisfaction with pay (57%).
Around of third of teachers also cited a lack of support from their superiors, while 35% said dealing with pupils’ parents or carers was a major factor in their decision.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Teachers across England and Wales have been taking strike action over pay and conditions.
One in five teachers said their satisfaction with their lives was low, with 43% saying they had high levels of anxiety before filling out the survey for the department.
And when it came to their salaries, the report said 61% of teachers and leaders disagreed they were satisfied with their level of pay, with 57% thinking they could get a better wage by leaving the profession.
Mr Courtney said: “Nothing in this report will come as a shock to teachers and leaders. High workload is endemic, it is driving talented people out of the profession to find better paid work elsewhere, and the government is not doing enough to fix things.”
The union boss also said it was “a mystery why this important research has not been released by the government”.
He added: “The School Teachers’ Review Body must be provided with the full detail of these research reports to inform their deliberations ahead of the 2023/24 settlement.”
The Department for Education said it would not comment on leaked documents, but a spokesperson said: “The government has put forward a fair and reasonable offer, backed with funding for schools.
“The offer provides an average 4.5% pay rise for next year and puts £1,000 into the pockets of teachers as a one-off payment for this year
“We are listening to teachers about the issues that affect them which is why our offer also committed to reducing workload by five hours per week.”
A government source told Sky News said the issue around workload in the teaching profession was “well-known” and something they had been engaging with unions on – including as part of its most recent offer, which promised to reduced workload by five hours a week.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway