Commenting on the publication of the Department for Education's
working lives of teachers
and leaders survey, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of
school leaders’ union NAHT, said:
“These findings are a damning indictment of government policies
which have neglected schools for over a decade, and with them,
the futures of our children.
“Anyone questioning why ourselves and other teaching unions are
in dispute with the government only has to look at these survey
results.
“They lay bare the unacceptable hours worked by school leaders
who have lost nearly a fifth of their real-terms pay since 2010
and overwhelmingly feel that their views are not valued by
policy-makers including the government.
“For too long, ministers have taken the goodwill of hardworking
leaders and school staff for granted, forcing them to patch up a
crumbling system while serving up massive real terms funding and
pay cuts alongside a high-stakes accountability regime.
“It’s depressing but sadly unsurprising that staff have been left
feeling stressed, overworked and struggling with their health and
well-being, with worrying numbers seriously considering leaving
the state sector entirely.
“This must be a watershed moment which finally sparks decisive
action by the government to make a fair pay offer, tackle a
catastrophic recruitment and retention crisis, and urgently
reform the flawed school inspection system in order to support
staff wellbeing.”
