Teachers quit over increasing workloads


There is a “crisis brewing in English classrooms”, according to the House of Commons public accounts committee, which pointed to workload as the main reason why teachers are leaving the profession. 


The cross-party committee of MPs referenced a Department for Education survey, published in February 2017, which found that classroom teachers and middle leaders worked 54.4 hours a week on average during a “reference” week.


The committee’s report said that head teachers are concerned that increasing workloads are affecting both the quality of teaching and teachers’ wellbeing. And it identified increasing contact time, with teachers taking classes for a high proportion of the time, larger class sizes, and the pace of change in assessment and the curriculum as the main factors increasing workloads. 


Committee chair Meg Hillier said: “Government must get a grip on teacher retention and we expect it to set out a targeted, measurable plan to support struggling schools as a matter of urgency.”


https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmpubacc/460/460.pdf