87% of teachers report rise in workload over past year

Nearly nine out of 10 teachers say their workload has increased in the last year, while a fifth said they would not recommend the profession.

The figures were revealed in the latest survey by the EIS trade union, which said the results show the pressure on teachers is “excessive and growing”.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said it is “startling” 87% of those surveyed reported their workload increased during the 2016-17 school year - with 33% reporting a “significant” rise.

A total of 19% of those questioned were “not at all likely” to recommend teaching as a profession - while only 1% of teachers said they would “completely” recommend it.

When asked what parts of the job they are most dissatisfied with, the most common answers were workload (76.34%), curriculum changes (67.03%) and working hours (44.09%).

Mr Flanagan said the research, which involved about 270 teachers, made for “worrying reading”.

He added: “The findings indicate that the pressures on teachers are excessive and growing. A startling 87% of respondents indicated that their workload has increased during the past year - with around a third of all respondents indicating that their workload has increased significantly.

“Another major cause for concern, given the teacher recruitment issues across the country, is the fact that fewer than half of those surveyed would currently recommend teaching as a career choice - this is far worse than in our previous survey.

“Levels of workload satisfaction are also down, compared to the last survey undertaken by the EIS, with 19% of respondents stating they were 'not at all satisfied' with their current workload compared to 10% in the previous survey.

“The results of this survey highlight that teachers increasingly feel overworked, underpaid and underappreciated.

“Declining staff numbers, coupled with significant curricular and assessment changes, have led to substantial workload burdens being placed on staff.”

Teacher pay has been falling “in real terms for over a decade”, he added, saying it is now 16% lower than in 2003.

“These findings should issue a stark warning to local authorities and the Scottish Government that more action is needed to reduce workload and, equally important, the issue of declining levels of pay must be addressed urgently if we are to avoid a major recruitment crisis in the teaching profession throughout Scotland,” he added.

The survey was released days after the union signalled it could order strikes unless action is taken to increase pay.

The EIS annual general meeting in Perth backed a motion saying failure to reach a deal on wages would result in it balloting members on industrial action - including strikes - that could hit schools in the academic year 2018-19.

Education Secretary John Swinney said: “The Scottish Government would encourage negotiations in all circumstances on all employment issues to avoid industrial action.”

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Tavish Scott questioned him on the survey, saying: “Despite all the parliamentary assurances saying teacher workload is falling, it is actually rising.

“Does that not starkly illustrate that this Government is out of touch with the reality of teaching across Scotland?”

Mr Swinney told MSPs he had “taken a series of steps to tackle teacher workload”.

As part of this, he said he had “given guidance to all teachers which indicates that the teaching profession should be free to concentrate on learning and teaching”.

In addition, he said inspectors had been commissioned to “audit the burden of bureaucracy”applied to schools by local authorities.

On the issue of pay, he accepted there “has been constraint in public sector pay for some time”.

But he said that was necessary to protect jobs as the UK Government austerity policy “created the financial climate in which this Government had to operate”