1 in 4 teachers may quit in next year, finds government's own study
A damning government report has found that 1 in 4 state school teachers are considering leaving their jobs within the next year.
The most commonly cited reasons for considering quitting were high workload (92%), Government initiatives or policy changes (76%), and other pressures relating to pupil outcomes or inspection (69%).
Over half of those asked (57%) claimed that ‘dissatisfactory pay’ was a major reason for them considering leaving the industry.
The research, carried out for the Department for Education, surveyed over 11,000 school leaders and teachers England in spring 2022.
The shocking results found that two in five teachers are working 60 hour weeks during term time which averages as a 12 hour working day.
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On top of this, two-thirds of teachers reported that they spent over half of their working time on tasks other than teaching.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan (PA)These findings come weeks after members of four education unions, including the National Education Union, rejected the Government's pay offer for teachers.
After national strike action, the Department of Education had offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year and an average 4.5% pay rise for staff next year (2023/24).
It also pledged to set up a task force to help reduce workload by an average of five hours a week for every teacher.
Now, the schools face five days of teacher walkouts in the summer term and possible action into the autumn as the NEU union voted to re-ballot members in a dispute over pay.
A recent poll of more than 17,800 members of the National Education Union (NEU) found that 18% of teachers and 22% of support staff reported taking on a second job to make ends meet, while a quarter of teachers have been forced to skip meals.
It was also found that the majority (85%) of teachers have been forced to turn down heating due to surging energy costs.
Notably, the DfE survey found 63% of teachers and school leaders disagreed that the school inspection regime provides "a fair assessment of school performance".
This comes after Ruth Perry, headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, Berkshire, committed suicide in January while awaiting an Ofsted report which downgraded her school from the highest rating to the lowest possible.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: "It is disappointing but also telling that the Department for Education has kept the results of this survey under wraps for so long.
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"It did not feature in their submission of evidence to the School Teachers' Review Body as they consider pay for 2023/24. The inescapable conclusion for all who read it now is that teacher workload is not only out of control but driving talented people out of the profession.
"The Government should act immediately to reduce the excess workload associated with our failing accountability system and should also plan to increase staffing and reduce class sizes.
"It is only proper that this survey is now considered by the STRB, in addition to the wealth of evidence submitted by education unions."
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