ASCL comment on NFER teacher retention report

Commenting on the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report comparing the working hours, earnings and job satisfaction of teachers with nurses and police officers, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“This research provides further evidence that many teachers are overloaded and underpaid. It shows that a large proportion are unhappy with the amount of leisure time left to them and that their average hourly pay has plummeted in real terms since 2010. Unsurprisingly, we are failing to attract enough teachers into the profession and then losing too many early in their careers.

“Teaching has always been a demanding job, but relentless government reforms, underfunding and ever increasing expectations on schools have driven up workload to an intolerable degree. The government – alongside Ofsted and ASCL – has committed to reducing that burden and we must now turn those words into reality. Ministers must also commit to fully funding a decent pay rise for teachers.”