Free teachers to do their jobs without the burden of bureaucracy
SIR – Damian Hinds, the Education Secretary, should be congratulated for his initiative to reduce teachers’ administrative workload (report, March 10).
I am a former head teacher, and am currently a governor of a primary school. I know how much time and energy teachers spend on bureaucracy. I also know from my own experience that the real joy of teaching is to be found in the classroom, rather than in the endless form-filling and box-ticking that today’s teachers are forced to do.
When class sizes are right and teachers have the energy they need because they are not overburdened, teaching is the best job in the world. In these circumstances, recruitment should not pose a problem.
I hope Mr Hinds is successful in his efforts, because then he can progress to improving other areas of the system and making our schools world-class once more. David Kidd
Petersfield, Hampshire SIR – It is easy to see why teachers are leaving this wonderful job in droves. They are weighed down by large classes, low pay in the ranks, pointless testing, poor pupil behaviour, poor parental support – and big brother Ofsted lurking and getting it wrong.
Children learn best when there is a controlled, happy atmosphere, and an enthusiastic teacher at the helm. Mr Hinds needs to make plenty of radical changes if he is going to turn this situation around. However, I won’t hold my breath, because these problems have been going on for years and no one has changed things for the better so far.
Mick Ferrie
Mawnan Smith, Cornwall
SIR – The best the Government can offer teachers is the promise of “no new tests”.
Don’t politicians realise that not making conditions worse falls a long way short of making them better?
JD Newman
Hinckley, Leicestershire
SIR – Having worked as a mathematics teacher for 27 years, I welcome Mr Hinds’s intervention.
I was pleased when my school moved from county council control to academy status. Local accountability and “small government” offered so many opportunities to use limited resources wisely. However, this agenda has been hijacked by people who want to revert to the old model, in the guise of multi-academy trusts.
These were intended to be nimble bodies that could respond to local needs. Instead, they are bloated, self-serving bureaucracies. Excessive pressure on teachers doesn’t come from Ofsted: it comes from the managers of these organisations as they attempt to meet their performance targets.
Teaching is a highly rewarding job. I wouldn’t do anything else. But the joy and satisfaction are being eroded by incessant and pointless micro-management.
Oliver Tyson
Ashby-de-la-zouch, Leicestershire