Teachers have called for the amount of time teachers are allocated during the working day to undertake planning, preparation and assessment to be increased from 10% to 20% in order to tackle soaring levels of workload and stress among the profession.

Representatives at the Annual Conference of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union in Harrogate have argued that doubling PPA time, accompanied by additional funding and resources for schools, would help recruit and retain more teachers, address excessive working hours and improve educational standards.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:

“More than seven in ten teachers told us that their workload has increased since the start of this academic year and 65% of teachers said they work more than 50 hours a week.

“We have increasing problems recruiting and retaining teachers, with excessive workloads and working hours being one of the key factors driving people away from a career in teaching.

“Giving teachers more time during the working day to undertake planning, preparation and marking would help to prevent burnout, time off lost through ill health and would give teachers more energy to devote to their pupils.

“Rather than expecting teachers to continue to run on empty, we need a government with the vision and intelligence to realise that providing world class conditions of service for our teachers will enable our children to enjoy a world class education.”