NEU publish survey on State of Education: Workload and Wellbeing

In the latest survey of almost 18,000 National Education Union members, conducted ahead of Annual Conference in Harrogate, we asked teachers and support staff about the pressures and causes of high working hours.

• Around half of teachers (48%) told us that workload is unmanageable, either most of the time or all of the time. Just 1% of teachers and 10% of support staff said it was manageable all the time.
• Stress levels are high, with more than a third of teachers saying they are stressed 80% or more of the time. Two-thirds of teachers say they feel this way more than 60% of the time, and almost half of support staff feel stressed more than 60% of the time.
• High on the list of interventions that would have a ‘big positive impact’ on workload pressures, in the view of teachers, are increased funding (88%), a reformed inspection system (79%), and smaller class sizes (73%).

The State of Education survey gauges the views of working teacher, support staff and school leader NEU members in England and Wales. We are releasing the findings over the course of Annual Conference.

Current Workload Levels

Workload is a significant issue for all members according to our survey, but especially so for teachers.

It is striking that overall less than a fifth of teachers (18%) felt able to describe their workload as manageable. If we focus on England state-school teachers, this figure is even smaller: 15%, itself a drop from 19% when the same category was asked the same question last year.

Almost half of teachers working in England and Wales (48%) view their workload as ‘unmanageable’, to one degree or another. A third (34%) are on the borderline of ‘only just manageable’.

The Department for Education’s most recently published study shows that full-time teachers and middle leaders in England’s state schools work an average of 52.9 hours per week. This is above the 48 hours stipulated by the UK’s Working Time Regulations and extends well beyond classroom hours.

For support staff, workload is less intense in relative terms but there is no doubt that these members feel overworked – especially if their school has cut back resources and staff due to the constraints of real-terms funding cuts. It remains the case that just half of support staff respondents (49%) find their workload manageable most or all of the time.

“I have been working at 150% for four years and it has broken me. When I get home all I can think about is the work I haven’t had time to do and the pile I still have to do.”

“The workload is ridiculous. I work part-time [for] two days but I work three additional days at home to get my planning and all other tasks done. There is no way around this as far as I can see.”

Stress Levels

High workings hours inevitably contribute towards stress. Respondents to our survey made clear the extent of the problem.

Over a third of teacher (37%) and a fifth of support staff (21%) respondents describe feeling stressed at work 80% or more of the time. An additional third of teachers (31%) and a further quarter of support staff (25%) say this is the case 60%-79% of the time. From this it is reasonable to deduce that around three quarters of teachers and more than a half of support staff feel stressed at work the majority of the time.

When this data is broken down, it is notable that the highest levels of stress were more commonly recorded among women than men, younger rather than older teachers, and those teaching in schools with higher levels of deprivation.

“I have had to take anti-depressants for the first time since being a teenager due to the job, along with being signed off with work-related stress. I’m only in my twenties, I didn’t expect the job to be like this.”

“I’ve lost a dangerous amount of weight and am considering anti-depressants. I regularly have trouble sleeping and [have] nightmares due to stress-related anxiety.

We asked members about the impact of workload and stress levels on their wellbeing. Two thirds of teachers (64%) worry about this ‘very often’. Amongst English state-school teachers, this varies according to category: 69% of women, 60% men; 70% of 20-29 year olds, 54% of 60 and over. It is also of note that when last asked the question in 2021, just 48% of members said they were worried ‘very often’ – compared to 64% today. This is an alarming rise in the space of just two years.

The Teacher Wellbeing Index, commissioned by the Education Support charity, found that 77% of teachers across the UK experience poor mental health due to their work, and that 72% report being stressed and overworked – which is broadly in line with the NEU’s State of Education survey.  Both the Teacher Wellbeing Index and our current survey point towards the average teacher’s excessive workload and the lack of a work-life balance, as being the key drivers for poor mental wellbeing.

Government Interventions

We asked members what actions Government could take to alleviate workload pressures and help bring workplace stress under control.

The most effective options are also those which require funding. An injection of new school/college funding would make the difference in staffing levels (88%), as would greater support in the classroom for pupils with additional needs (86%).

The two options with the lowest support in terms of ‘big positive impact’ – guidance for professional autonomy; provision of curriculum resources by agency – are both Government initiatives. Conversely, the ones perceived as most impactful are those which mirror NEU policy. That said, all options achieve more than 70% support in terms of having a positive impact.

Further thoughts came in open comments:

“If classes sizes were a maximum of 20 students (rather than a maximum of 32 which I have currently) staff retention, well-being and workload would improve drastically. There needs to be a huge shift in investment and something needs to change, otherwise teachers like myself will leave the profession within the next two years.”

"Most of my stress comes from a complex cohort of SEND children and being understaffed and working in a classroom that is physically unsuitable for children with this level of need."      

"Ofsted is a very negative process that puts undue pressure on all staff.”

Another teacher described their experience of the inspectorate: “During Ofsted I felt physically sick, shaking with nerves, barely able to eat or sleep for two days.  I’ve been teaching for 27 years, consistently judged as very good, but here we are.”   

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

“We have known for a number of years that workload is the number one reason teachers decide to leave the profession, and it remains a major concern for support staff also. It is a key driver of the recruitment and retention crisis, where talented graduates suffer burnout within just a few years of qualifying.

“Looked at year on year, there is no discernible improvement in the situation. The strength of feeling from our members is just as intense as last year, sometimes more so, and indicates a failure on the part of Government to tackle a problem which a growing list of former education secretaries has admitted exists.

“We are pleased that Gillian Keegan is willing to explore workload solutions with the education unions and hope that it bears fruit with real change for teachers and support staff. This time, Government really must deliver.”

Editor’s Note

We conducted the survey between 11-27 February 2023. This report covers the findings from 17,891 responses from teachers, leaders and support staff in schools in England and Wales. We also received responses from NEU members in Northern Ireland, in the post-16 sector, in early years and supply; these are not included in this analysis but will feed into further work during the year.

We split the responses into two broad groups: school teachers and school support staff. We split these two groups into English state schools, Welsh state schools and independent schools in England and Wales. We did this so we could weight responses against the different demographic data available from their respective workforce censuses.

Where we have reported results for school teachers in England and Wales or support staff in England and Wales, we have combined the responses for English state schools, Welsh state schools and independent schools in England and Wales and weighted them in proportion to the size of the workforce.