In the latest survey of over 8,000 National Education Union members, conducted ahead of Annual Conference in Bournemouth, we asked teachers and support staff about their personal experience of workload and the forces affecting their wellbeing.
- Two in five (41%) teachers describe their workload as “unmanageable,” and for a further 37% “only just manageable.” A mere 1% of respondents told us their workload was manageable “all the time.”
- Many of the major causes of stress for teachers are Government-driven, such as inspection (64%), insufficient staff levels (58%) and lack of resources (45%). The overriding cause is poor work-life balance brought on by high workload (68%).
- 92% of support staff told us that pay is a cause of stress, with 63% saying it was a major cause – and the most leading cause. Insufficient staff levels and the resulting rise in workload register with 92%, of whom 61% describe it as a major cause of stress.
The State of Education survey gauges the views of working teacher, support staff and school leader NEU members in England and Wales. We are releasing the findings over the course of Annual Conference.
