NASUWT comments on school workforce statistics
Commenting on the release of the School Workforce in England statistics, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said:
“With fewer teachers coming into the profession compared with the number of teachers leaving, there is yet further damning evidence that the Government’s policies are not delivering and are putting at risk children’s education.
“Parents will also be concerned by the evidence of increasing class sizes in schools which mean that fewer children will receive the individual attention they need.
“As today’s figures show, many teachers are also being asked to teach lessons for which they don’t have a relevant qualification. In areas such as Computing, Physics, Engineering, languages, RE and Art and Design, this is particularly acute.
“Despite the Government’s own data, and the overwhelming evidence provided by the NASUWT and others, the Government is failing to provide any effective solutions to address the underlying causes of the recruitment and retention crisis in schools.
“To add insult to injury, the statistics published today also confirm the appalling deterioration of teachers’ pay, with teachers’ salaries increasing on average by a miserly 0.7% last year, well short of the Government’s 1% public sector pay policy.
“Ministers must stop being complacent in the face of the evidence of teachers facing a toll of high workload, burnout and stress who are being driven out of the profession and considering a career elsewhere.
“The Government’s delay in publishing the latest recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body sends a further worrying signal to an already beleaguered profession.
“If teachers’ pay and working conditions do not recognise them as professionals then it will not be possible to recruit and retain a high-quality teaching workforce.
“Without urgent action to address teachers’ workload concerns and provide every teacher with a significant across the board pay award from this September, the current crisis affecting schools and children’s education is set to get even worse.”
