The
NASUWTsaid the results show “the shocking impact on the teaching profession of three years of the Coalition Government’s relentless assault on pay, pensions and working conditions”.
65% of teachers surveyed said they have considered leaving their job in the last 12 months and 54% have considered leaving the teaching profession altogether.
53% say that their job satisfaction has declined in the last 12 months - up 6% from 2011.
98% of teachers do not believe that the Coalition Government’s policies will help education.
The survey has been released ahead of the first in a series of a national rolling strike action over a dispute with the Secretary of State for Education over pay, pensions, working conditions and jobs.
The
NASUWTannual survey, The Big Question, was launched in 2011.
In March and April this year it asked teachers a range of questions on key issues, including pay, pensions, job satisfaction and wellbeing. Over 14,000 teachers responded.
The survey found that teachers’ top four concerns are workload (78%), pension changes (51%), pay (45%) and school inspection (41%).
Chris Keates, General Secretary of the
NASUWT
, said:
“Three years of relentless attacks on teachers by the Coalition Government have resulted in a profession in crisis.
“Teachers have responded in their thousands to the
NASUWTsurvey every year since the Coalition has been in office.
“Each year the results have been shared with the Secretary of State. Each year he has failed to respond positively or to take seriously the deep concerns expressed.
“Teachers’ pay and working conditions are inextricably linked to the provision of high quality education for all children and young people.
“Yet the Secretary of State arrogantly and recklessly continues to cut pay, plunder pensions and hack to pieces national salary scales.
“Not content with this, he is now laying plans to remove other key contractual provisions, particularly those which support and enable teachers to work effectively.
“If these proposals see the light of day, teachers’ holidays, working hours and other contractual provisions will be at the whim of employers and schools. No other profession has been treated in such a disgraceful and callous manner.”
Changes to the statutory pay framework for teachers that will extend pay discretions for all schools comes into force this September.
64% of teachers say they do not trust their head teacher to make fair or objective decisions about pay progression, and 86% do not have confidence that their governing body would give balanced decisions on pay.
The survey found that teachers believe that the changes being introduced by the Coalition Government will be bad for the teaching profession:
Over half of teachers (56%) believe that graduates are put off a career in teaching because of the pay freeze - an increase of 13% from 2011.
Over two thirds (68%) do not think that teaching is competitive with other professions.