Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
High teacher workload and stress are significant, unresolved drivers of educators leaving the profession.
Conclusion
The Department’s annual teacher survey showed that 84% of teachers who had left between its 2023 and 2024 surveys described high workload as a reason for leaving, with 75% citing stress and/or poor wellbeing. Full-time secondary school teachers in England work on average 50.3 hours per week in term time.47 The Department told us schoolteachers in England work more than their international counterparts but spend fewer hours in the classroom with pupils. It also told us that while it has made some progress on reducing hours by working with Ofsted to reduce marking requirements, it is “quite hard” to understand the root causes behind what contributed to high teacher workloads and when or why this would be a problem.48
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5.2 The government gathers data through the longitudinal Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders study, which examines the intention to leave among the existing workforce and the experiences of those who have left the profession. 5.3 Through the Improving Education Together partnership, the department is working with the sector to help improve teacher retention across schools and colleges, including developing a workload reduction toolkit with the Association of Colleges. To support workload reduction, the government is exploring how AI and digital tools can transform teaching and learning, including reducing the burden of lesson planning, marking, feedback, and assessment. The EdTech Impact Testbed pilot will enable schools and colleges to test edtech products, including AI, helping to identify and generate evidence of tools that reduce workload by saving time and improving efficiency. This approach aims to free up teacher time, improve job satisfaction, and support retention across both schools and colleges.