Minister pledges to reduce teachers’ workloads
EDUCATION SECRETARY Damian Hinds has pledged to help school leaders cut “unnecessary” workload and support teachers to focus their energies in the classroom.
In a joint letter being sent to school leaders today, signed by organisations including Ofsted and the Confederation of Schools Trusts, the Education Secretary reiterated his commitment to tackle the pressures of teachers’ workload.
The letter cites research which shows that more than half of teachers’ time is spent on nonteaching tasks, such as planning, marking and administration, and that rising workloads are one of the most common reasons for leaving the profession.
Mr Hinds said: “Many teachers are having to work way too many hours each week on unnecessary tasks, including excessive time spent on marking and data analysis.
“I want to make sure teachers are teaching, not putting data into spreadsheets. That’s why I am stopping my department asking for data other than in the school’s existing format.
“I am united with the unions and Ofsted in wanting teachers to do less admin. I have a straightforward message to head teachers who want their staff to cut right down on collecting data to be able to devote energies to teaching – I will support you.
“Frequent data drops and excessive monitoring of a child’s progress are not required either by Ofsted or the Department for Education.”
It coincides with the publication of a report from the Workload Advisory Group – led by education expert, Professor Becky Allen – that Mr Hinds set up as part of his commitment to champion the profession.
The report was commissioned to explore some of the longstanding issues with workload and found that teachers can suffer from anxiety and burnout due to an increasing expectation on schools to use detailed pupil data.
It also sets out ways that schools, the Government and Ofsted can tackle mounting pressures and prevent unnecessary use of data.