Half of teachers do not believe that any of the political parties have policies in place that will ease the burden of their heavy workloads, a survey reveals.
When asked which party had the best proposals to improve their working lives, 50 per cent of teachers taking part in a TES poll responded “none of the above”.
According to the figures, Labour is the party that teachers believe has the best policies to alleviate their day-to-day burden; the party gained 20 per cent of the vote. The Greens come next at 15 per cent, and the coalition partners - the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats - trail with just 4 per cent of the vote each.
This is despite education secretary Nicky Morgan and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg claiming they have listened to the profession by instigating the Workload Challenge. In response to the results of the challenge, the coalition parties drew up a six-point action plan to help teachers.
But the proposals were panned by five of the main classroom and headteachers’ unions and responses from more than 200 teachers on the TES political panel suggest this feeling is shared by the wider workforce.
According to Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL union, the Workload Challenge was a “wasted opportunity”.
“Politicians talk about the fundamental importance of teachers in raising standards of education, but none have yet convinced teachers that their insane workload will lessen if they are elected,” Dr Bousted said.
For the full story get the 20 March edition of TES on your tablet or phone or by downloading the TES Reader app for Android or iOS. Or pick it up at all good newsagents.
Related stories:
Teacher workload crisis: unions join forces to criticise ministers’ proposals - 10 February, 2015
Teacher workload: thousands respond to government call for evidence - 26 October, 2014
Nicky Morgan: ‘I want to build a new deal for teacher workload - and I need your help’ - 21 October, 2014
Nick Clegg calls on teachers to explain their workload worries - 22 October, 2014
