Almost half of heads and a quarter of teachers are regularly clocking up over 18 hours of overtime each week, new figures reveal.

An exclusive YouGov survey for TES reveals 48 per cent of headteachers, and 26 per cent of classroom teachers, routinely work significantly more hours outside the normal school day. 

Education secretary Nicky Morgan said the survey “reinforces why it’s so important that we tackle excessive teacher workload”, while NUT deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney described the findings as “deeply disturbing”. Many teachers are working “an extra half a working week” in overtime during their evenings and weekends, he added.

The results come after tens of thousands of teachers took part in the Department for Education’s Workload Challenge, offering suggestions as to how ministers could ease the pressure on the profession. Teachers’ responses are currently being processed by DfE officials.

Earlier this year, the Teaching and Learning International Survey revealed that teachers in England work longer hours than their counterparts in almost every country in the world, averaging 51 hours a week.

But the YouGov survey suggests the true picture is even worse for many teachers.

Read the full article in the 28 November 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:

Workload Challenge: teachers tell government howto ease their burden - November 2014

Teachers in England work some of the longest hours in the world, report finds - June 2014