Teachers could take national strike action over “unsustainable” levels of workload they say they are facing.

The NASUWT union’s conference this morning heard that high levels of workload outside of working hours were forcing teachers out of the profession, and causing mental health problems.

An emotional Iain Henderson, of Leicestershire, told delegates his wife had quit the profession two months ago, and he left last month, because of the demands put upon them.

“I’m 51. I’ve taught for 25 years. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

“We are probably going to have to sell the house. She works so incredibly hard. She works until midnight five times a week. I don’t.

“By their standards, she is an excellent teacher and I am rubbish. If you read my file, it will say my lessons are terrible. The kids will tell you something different, but that’s what it says.

“This is a choice we have now. We are either working until midnight or we get into trouble for not doing so.”

He concluded: “I love my school and I love my kids, but I love my life more.”

A NUT survey this week found that 45 per cent of young teachers were planning to leave the profession within five years, with “volume of workload” the biggest concern.

The NASUWT is already committed to action short of strike action over workload.

Today’s motion called for the dispute to be escalated, citing concerns about the “unsustainability of workload and the dismissive attitude shown by governments and administrations towards teachers’ statutory entitlement to a work-life balance”.

Teachers also called for the three independent reports on workload, commissioned by the Department for Education and published last year, to become statutory guidance.

The motion also calls for a campaign for:

• a national workload agreement, including an assessment on “the achieveability and sustainability of all initiatives”;
• increased statutory provision of planning, preparation and assessment;
• the enforcement of work-life balance and workload policies;
• inspection frameworks to include work-life balance and workload.

It instructed the union’s national executive to consult members nationally about holding national days of strike action, as well as continuous rolling, regional strike action, and time-limited workplace-based actions.

However, Stephen Gregory of Slough warned that it would be difficult to get colleagues in the South East to take part in nationwide strikes.