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Teachers set their priorities for the new academic year

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As schools return for the start of the new academic year, teachers want the Government to prioritise the reduction of their workload, according to an independent report by ComRes commissioned by the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK.

More than half of teachers (51%) highlight workload reduction as a priority for Government but of equal importance (51%) for teachers is a government commitment to deliver adequate funding for all schools.

Teachers are also concerned about the undermining of the status of the profession, with ensuring that all teachers have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) being seen as a top three priority for a third of teachers.

The ComRes Report is, however, bad news for the proponents of the current proposals for the College of Teaching, with only 9% considering this a top three priority for the sector. Only one in ten (10%) teachers say that the College will improve the status of the teaching profession, contrary to the Government’s belief that this will be a key benefit of the proposed new professional body.

Ensuring that all teachers are qualified (55%), fostering public support rather than denigration by politicians (51%), and increasing pay (44%), are all seen by teachers as top three priorities and thus as more important factors in raising the standing of the profession.

Other results from the ComRes Report included:

  • 79% of teachers say they know nothing about the proposal to establish a College of Teaching;
  • 62% say they are either indifferent or unfavourable towards the proposal to establish a College;
  • 66% say that paying for membership of a College of Teaching membership fees would be a low priority in their monthly household budget;
  • 89% say that it is important to them that a College of Teaching be independent of Government.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

“The findings of this report reflect the outcomes of the annual opinion surveys of the profession that the NASUWT has been conducting since 2011.

“Excessive workload, not surprisingly, remains a key priority for teachers and this year teachers will be looking for tangible action to reduce workload, rather than the Government continuing to seek to mask its own culpability by continuing to offer nothing more than fine words and sympathy from the Secretary of State.

“Excessive workload, pay, inadequate funding for schools and the use of unqualified staff not only impact adversely on the profession, they undermine the entitlement of children and young people to be taught by those who are recognised and rewarded as highly skilled professionals and have working conditions which enable them to focus on teaching and learning.

“The current proposals for the College of Teaching clearly have little resonance with the profession and are way down the list of issues on which teachers think the Government should be focusing its attention and funding.

“With a crisis in teacher recruitment and retention the Government needs to take urgent action to address the concerns.”

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