Responding to the call from the Deputy First Minister John Swinney for teacher unions to come forward with practical suggestions to tackle teacher workload,Chris Keates General Secretary of the NASUWT the fastest growing teachers’ union in Scotland, said

“The NASUWT welcomes the fact that one of the Minister’s first announcements since taking over the role in Education highlights the issue of teachers’ excessive workload.

“The NASUWT was the first Union to raise this as an issue and the only Union which has carried out annual research since 2011 which has shown, year on year, that this was a serious and growing problem.

“The NASUWT welcomes the Minister’s challenge to come forward with practical solutions.

“In the last few years, the NASUWT has not only identified the growing problem of excessive workload which is blighting the profession, but has put forward time and time again to ministers and employers strategies to tackle it. We are more than happy to resubmit them.

“The issue is not whether we can come forward with the solutions but whether the Scottish Government is going to grasp the nettle and be prepared to implement them.”

Jane Peckham, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:

“This challenge to unions from the Deputy First Minister will raise expectations that the Government is going to take the issue of teachers’ workload seriously.

“Having embarked on this path it will be important that the Minister meets those expectations and that action is taken swiftly to make a tangible improvement to reducing workload burdens, which for over three quarters of teachers is their top concern about their job.”