Posted on Monday 4th Apr 2016
Too much of teachers' time is taken up by "mind-numbingly useless" bureaucracy which saps staff morale and fuels the staffing crisis, says a union leader.
The emphasis on data in England's schools does nothing to boost
learning, said Association of Teachers and Lecturers leader Mary Bousted.
Dr Bousted called on the government to cut this workload to make teaching a more attractive profession.
Ministers have promised measures to ease the paperwork burden on teachers.
"The average working week for a teacher is now 60 hours and that average includes the school holidays. So in term time teachers are working excessive hours," Dr Bousted told the BBC ahead of the ATL conference in Liverpool.
"And the problem is so much of what they're doing isn't related to effective teaching and learning.
"It's just bureaucratic paper filling, data driven, mind-numbingly useless work they're doing for accountability purposes rather than raising standards of teaching and learning."
Dr Bousted urged the government to implement the findings of three reports on teacher workload in England which it published over the Easter weekend.
She warned: "If teachers have no time to relax, no time to recover from what is a very demanding job, then they are leaving the profession.
"Unless we do something about this workload problem then there aren't going to be teachers to teach children."
Latest News
05/02/19Ban phones in schools, says minister Nick Gibb
Pupils should be banned from taking smartphones into school, the minister for school standards in England has told the BBC. Nick Gibb spoke out ahead of the government publishing new guidance for schools, expected to address internet safety, social media and online gaming. It is expected to say children should be taught to limit the amount of time they spend online. Schools have the power to ban phones from being taken on to the premises. But government policy is that it is the responsibility of head teachers to determine whether this is appropriate.
21/01/19Government to fund 2,900 school exchanges for poorer pupils
Secondary schools in England will be able to apply for money to take poorer pupils overseas on school exchanges
01/11/18Education spending now 'skewed' to poor following 'remarkable shift'
There has been a "remarkable shift" in poorer children now receiving a bigger share of education spending in England, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
21/09/18Kent Teaching Solutions announced as supplier through Supply Teachers Framework
Kent Teaching Solutions are proud to announce that we have been awarded one of the select positions a s a supplier on the Supply Teachers Framework.
21/06/18Ofsted chief inspector backs ban on phones in schools
The chief inspector of Ofsted is backing head teachers who ban mobile phones to prevent bad behaviour.