Union poll reveals ‘crisis of morale’ among teachers

The YouGov poll of more than 800 people, commissioned by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), also shows that the same number (77 per cent) believe Education Secretary Michael Gove’s academy expansion and free school programmes are taking education “in the wrong direction.”

The Government is encouraging all schools to become academies run autonomously from local councils and it is allowing new free schools to be started from scratch in areas where there is parental demand.

The NUT says the findings shows the majority of teachers questioned disagree with other key Government policies such as the creation of a new Ebacc qualification to replace GCSEs.

The biggest teaching union in the country says the poll also reveals a crisis of morale within the teaching profession.

Since a similar survey in April last year, the level of teachers who felt their morale was high has almost halved. The majority (55 per cent)of teachers felt that their morale is low or very low, an increase of 13 percentage points since April, while 69 per cent of teachers said their morale had declined since the General Election in May 2010. Most teachers (71 per cent) felt rarely or never trusted by Government compared to 54 per cent in April 2010 under the previous regime.

Eight out of 10 secondary teachers Mr Gove’s proposals on the Ebacc were being rushed through without sufficient consultation. And almost three-quarters of all respondents felt that students affected by last year’s GCSE fiasco should have their papers regraded. A legal battle followed last summer’s GCSE results after it emerged that some exam boards had moved the grade boundaries in English papers between January and June meaning the same standard of work could receive different grades depending on when it was assessed. Campaigners have claimed the situation led to 10,000 students “unfairly” missing out on a C grade.

The NUT’s general secretary Christine Blower said: “This survey paints a very sorry picture and is a damming indictment of coalition Government policies. Michael Gove has been allowed to rush through educational reforms and his academies and free schools projects based on little or no evidence. We need to see education policy being implemented that works for all children and young people and provides them with an education that is exciting and fulfilling.”