Posted on Monday 4th Apr 2016
Too much of teachers' time is taken up by "mind-numbingly useless" bureaucracy which saps staff morale and fuels the staffing crisis, says a union leader.
The emphasis on data in England's schools does nothing to boost
learning, said Association of Teachers and Lecturers leader Mary Bousted.
Dr Bousted called on the government to cut this workload to make teaching a more attractive profession.
Ministers have promised measures to ease the paperwork burden on teachers.
"The average working week for a teacher is now 60 hours and that average includes the school holidays. So in term time teachers are working excessive hours," Dr Bousted told the BBC ahead of the ATL conference in Liverpool.
"And the problem is so much of what they're doing isn't related to effective teaching and learning.
"It's just bureaucratic paper filling, data driven, mind-numbingly useless work they're doing for accountability purposes rather than raising standards of teaching and learning."
Dr Bousted urged the government to implement the findings of three reports on teacher workload in England which it published over the Easter weekend.
She warned: "If teachers have no time to relax, no time to recover from what is a very demanding job, then they are leaving the profession.
"Unless we do something about this workload problem then there aren't going to be teachers to teach children."
Can't find what you are looking for?
Don't worry, please call us anyway to discuss your ideal job.
Latest News
13/03/25The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England
The government faces a "now or never moment" to hit its target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers in England by the end of its term, a new report has suggested. Analysis by the National Foundation of Educational Research (NFER) says unfilled vacancies are at a record high and recruitment into teacher training remains "persistently low." All but five secondary subjects missed this year's recruitment targets for new trainee teachers, which are set by the Department for Education (DfE).
06/03/25Medway children offered secondary school places as the number who got their first choice revealed
A total of 96% of children were offered places at a secondary school of their choice in Medway
04/03/25Schools to trial social media blackout scheme
Three schools in Surrey are launching a pilot programme to restrict mobile phone usage in an attempt to improve pupils' wellbeing. The secondary schools, which are part of the GLF Schools trust, are to trial an app that blocks social media, messaging and other apps which they believe are "distracting" during school hours. GLF Schools said the expected benefits were more focus in the classroom, a calmer learning environment and improved student mental health.
25/02/25First Kent schools named in free breakfast club pilot
The first schools in Kent and Medway to offer free breakfast clubs for pupils as part of a government scheme have been revealed.
24/02/25Schoolchildren have swapped French for British Sign Language
Children in Castle Hill Community Primary School in Folkestone have swapped French lessons for British Sign Language (BSL)
News Archive