At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has partnered with the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) to hold a public panel event on ‘Time for change: how can we tackle the workload and wellbeing crisis affecting teachers and school leaders?’
Three years on from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the education sector continues to feel its effects. The number of children with complex needs, including EHC plans and mental health problems, is rising, pupil absences are increasing and there continues to be an effect on learning, particularly for the most disadvantaged.
To support their pupils in the face of these challenges, school staff are working longer hours and facing larger workloads, often to fill the gap left by cuts to funding for wider children’s services and the demands of the accountability system in its current form. The Department for Education’s own data shows that, on average, teachers and leaders work 48.7 and 59.38 hours a week, respectively, while a recent Education Support report finds that since the pandemic, of the school staff offering extra support, 83% of senior leaders and 70% of teachers described themselves as feeling somewhat or very emotionally exhausted.
There have been various government attempts to tackle the issues of workload and wellbeing but these are yet to have a meaningful impact. This event will bring together policy makers, school leaders and other education stakeholders to discuss what is needed to really make a measurable difference to the lives of education staff and in turn, their pupils. The panel will consider why policies so far have been unable to alleviate the problem and what an incoming government could do to truly shift the dial, recognising the impact that tackling the issue could have on the current recruitment and retention crisis.
We are delighted to welcome Geoff Barton, ASCL; Sinéad Mc Brearty, Education Support; Catherine McKinnell MP, Shadow Schools Minister; Paul Whiteman, NAHT and Jack Worth, NFER to the panel. James Zuccollo, EPI’s Director for School Workforce, will chair the session.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Labour Party.**
