Education Secretary pledges more support for school leaders to tackle workload
The Secretary of State for Education has this week pledged to help school leaders cut “unnecessary” workload.
In a joint letter sent to all school leaders on Monday, co-signed by multiple organisations including Ofsted, NAHT and ASCL, Damien Hinds set out plans to help teachers refocus on the classroom.
Research cited in the letter suggests that more than half of teachers’ time is spent on non-teaching tasks, including planning, marking and admin, and that workload is one of the most common reasons for teachers leaving the profession.
This coincides with the publication of a report from the Workload Advisory Group – led by education expert, Professor Becky Allen – that the Education Secretary created for this very issue.
Damian Hinds said: Secretary of State for Education Damian Hinds said: “Many teachers are having to work way too many hours each week on unnecessary tasks, including excessive time spent on marking and data analysis.
“I want to make sure teachers are teaching, not putting data into spreadsheets. That’s why I am stopping my department asking for data other than in the school’s existing format.”
“I am united with the unions and Ofsted in wanting teachers to do less admin. I have a straightforward message to head teachers who want their staff to cut right down on collecting data to be able to devote energies to teaching: I will support you. Frequent data drops and excessive monitoring of a child’s progress are not required either by Ofsted or by the DfE.”
To read more and this, and the research the Department for Education will be undertaking on school reporting, head to the DfE website.