Spiralling workloads in teaching must be addressed to ensure children get the education they need - The Yorkshire Post says

The teaching union NASUWT has called for action on pay, “spiralling” workloads and long working hours. A failure to tackle these issues could lead to a “deepening recruitment and retention crisis”, it warns.

The first thing to acknowledge is that teaching for many within the profession is a vocation. Teachers take great pride in helping young people fulfil their potential. And as such are more than willing to go the extra mile.

However, a variety of factors, ranging from the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic to classroom teaching to the current cost of living pressures on the budgets of schools, there is a clear need to intervene. Spending per pupil was already suppressed prior to the pandemic so it has only become tougher for teachers to deliver what they’re most passionate about, which is getting the most out of young people.

The NASUWT, which has published a Manifesto For Teachers, is calling for political parties to commit to the restoration of real terms pay, ensure the right for every child to be taught by a qualified teacher, a commitment to increase teacher numbers and improve teacher-pupil ratios, and access to affordable housing for teachers who work in areas of high housing cost.

Given the importance of helping young children catch up following the pandemic, this trend of denuding the teaching profession of the pride and prestige that it once carried would be antithetical to recovering ground in education.