Teachers in Barnsley being "driven out" of profession by high workloads
A survey's suggested teachers in Barnsley are under so much pressure from their workload, 80% are thinking of leaving the job altogether
It's claimed teachers in Barnsley are getting so stressed and exhausted by their workloads, many are thinking of leaving their jobs altogether.
The NUT say 80% of teachers they surveyed in the town are thinking of leaving the profession because of their high workload.
The union say they're "deeply concerned" by the findings of the survey and are calling for action to tackle the pressure teachers are under in the town.
Nicola Fitzpatrick - from Barnsley NUT - says it's a big problem which parents should be concerned about:
"I don't want my own child to be taught be someone who's exhausted and stressed. And I think if teachers are coming forward and saying they're exhausted and stressed, we need to listen to them and do something about it.
"The thing that concerns us really is the work-life balance for teachers. Our working environment is the children's learning environment - you are not going to be the best teacher and the children are not going to get the best out of you if you're stressed and exhausted. What we are wanting to do is work with key stakeholders, key leaders in the council, to actually do something about it."
The NUT's meeting with council leaders and school bosses on Friday to discuss how they can tackle the issue in the town.
The union's calling for a 'fair workload charter' specific to Barnsley - which schools can sign up to.
Nicola says it'd make a real difference:
"What we want to do is work together with local leaders in the council to commit to tackling workload and actually develop a fair workload charter just for Barnsley. A charter would showcase the best Barnsley schools and attract the best teachers here and why would we not want that for our children?
"Certain schools have already got that commitment to tackling workload, others haven't and what we worry about is we do hear of schools where they make a habit of reading other schools' Ofsted reports and them jump on the bandwagon and impliment things in their school without considering what needs to give."
Councillor Tim Cheetham, Cabinet Spokesperson for People (Achieving Potential) at Barnsley Council said:
"There has been a radical change in Barnsley education over the last few years. The investment in our young people and their learning environment has seen results and standards rocketing and record-breaking achievements year on year. It isn't just about students though, teachers and school staff are a vital part of our ambition.
"We want Barnsley to be a great place to learn and a great place to teach. Addressing the key issues for teachers, like workloads, in an innovative way is something we should all be signing up to."