in September shows that 90 per cent of teachers have considered leaving the profession in the past two years because of workload. And 96.5 per cent say their workload has negative consequences for their family or personal life. It is unsurprising, then, that Nicky Morgan promised to make addressing the issue of teacher workload her first priority when she became education secretary for England in July.“We forget that teachers are not just teachers,” she told the Conservative Party conference in September. “They’re also friends and relatives. Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. And when I hear of teachers working late into the night marking books, planning lessons, preparing for inspections that may or may not come, I do two things: I marvel at their dedication, but I also think there must be a better way.
“I don’t want my child to be taught by someone too tired, too stressed and too anxious to do the job well.”
Comforting sentiments maybe. But although the subsequent Workload Challenge survey launched by the government on the TES website has been completed by thousands of teachers, definite policy focused on lessening workload has so far not materialised.
In the meantime, while teachers are crushed under the weight of dialogic marking, detailed planning formats, reams of assessment and all the other paperwork that is now considered an essential part of the job, it is fast becoming an unavoidable truth that, when you’re a teacher, every child matters but your own.
Weight of expectation
“Finding time to spend with the children after school during term time was always a struggle,” says Dr Fiona Hammans, an experienced headteacher who is director of new projects and chief inspector for the Aspirations Academies Trust. “When I became a headteacher, my family are now happy to say - although they wouldn’t have dared at the time - that I just `disappeared’ for the first year. All I recall is that I was exhausted and used to get up at 4am to do all the work that I couldn’t after school, as I had to get back to be a parent.”
Teachers at all stages of the professional hierarchy tell a similar story. Even a cursory look at forums, Twitter, Facebook and the “What keeps me awake at night” column in TES uncovers stories of teachers teetering on the edge of being unable to balance a family and the job they love.So when did teaching become such an all-consuming monster, gobbling up your social and family life and generally making you feel as though you are constantly being pulled in all directions? In days gone by, teaching was considered one of the most family-friendly professions: no scrabbling around for childcare in the holidays, no unsociable hours and a definite advantage when helping with homework.
The development of the current status quo has been a gradual one with no specific cause, but contributory factors include everything from the inspection regime and persistent government-level changes to increased accountability and an expectation that teachers ought to fix all society’s ills.
The workload has crept up on us slowly. The odd evening of school work became every evening; the occasional Sunday afternoon became every Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, working 247 was normal and family life had turned into something that was happening without us, somewhere beyond the planning documents and piles of marking.
Perhaps we could justify all this if it meant more time teaching. But that is not where the increase in workload is - we are not teaching children for longer than teachers in other countries.
*Names have been changed.
