Teachers at the Annual Conference of NASUWT Scotland, the fastest growing teachers’ union in Scotland and the largest in the UK, have condemned the spiraling workload and bureaucracy associated with the new National Qualifications.
Teachers at the Conference, which continues today (Saturday) at the NASUWT Scotland National Centre in Edinburgh have called on the Scottish Government to urgently agree effective solutions to address the problem, saying it is hampering their ability to focus on the needs of their pupils.
Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:
“The NASUWT has acted to protect members from excessive workload by putting in place an additional action instruction as part of the Union’s ongoing industrial action campaign.
“However, teachers are frustrated and disappointed at the failure of the Scottish Government to agree effective solutions to address the immediate problem of excessive teacher workload associated with the new qualifications.
“This is despite the formation of an Assessment and Qualifications Working Group, on which the NASUWT was represented.
“The NASUWT has stepped in to seek to alleviate the burdens on our members, but what is needed is action from the Government which is fully implemented in every school to ensure teachers are able to focus on supporting their pupils to achieve exam success, rather than on paperwork and administration.
“It is no longer good enough for the Scottish Government simply to rely on employers doing the right thing. The time has come to make provisions relating to teachers’ pay and conditions legally binding on employers and schools.”
Jane Peckham, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said:
“Workload is the biggest issue facing teachers and it is one of the key drivers behind the growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
“A failure to get to grips with this issue will have serious consequences as more and more teachers and prospective recruits will simply vote with their feet and walk away from the profession. Ministers and employers cannot continue to delay taking effective action to support teachers.”
