An opinion survey of teachers and school leaders
Introduction
The Big Question 2016, carried out in February and March 2016, is the sixth
annual Big Question survey carried out by the NASUWT since 2011.
Over 400 teachers from Scotland responded to the survey.
The Big Question 2016 highlights the views of teachers and school leaders
on a range of subjects, including pay, pupil behaviour, empowerment and
professionalism, school governance, and mental and physical wellbeing.
Pay and Cost of Living
Over four fifths (88%) of teachers do not believe that teachers’ salaries are
competitive when compared to those of other professions and three
quarters (75%) believe that people are put off teaching because of levels
of pay.
When asked about the impact of the cost of living crisis on their spending
in the last year, the survey revealed that: almost half (49%) of teachers had
to cut back on spending on clothing; over a third (38%) had to cut back on
expenditure on food; almost a quarter (24%) had to cut back on essential
household items; over a quarter (27%) had to increase the use of credit;
10% had to extend their overdrafts; and 9% had to delay the paying of bills.
Over four fifths of teachers (84%) believe that they are not paid at a level
that is commensurate to their skills and experiences. Furthermore, almost
a quarter (23%) of teachers are paid for the full range of responsibilities they
undertake.
Almost two thirds (65%) of teachers would not recommend teaching as a
career.
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Pupil Behaviour
Four fifths (80%) of teachers said that they think there is a widespread
behaviour problem in schools today and half (50%) said they believe there
is a behaviour problem in their schools.
Additionally, 85% of teachers believed that there is an issue of low-level
disruption amongst the pupils they teach.
When examining the causes of pupil behaviour, the top five causes that
teachers selected were lack of parental support (57%), pupil readiness
(47%), lack of back-up from the senior management team (43%), lack of
support staff (37%), and lack of enforcement of the school rules (34%).
Top five causes of poor pupil behaviour
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
57%
47%
Lack of
parental
support
43%
37%
34%
Pupil
Lack of back­
Lack of
Lack of
readiness to
up from
support staff enforcement
learn
management
of rules
Three fifths of teachers (60%) said that they were not given the appropriate
training, information and advice to deal with poor pupil behaviour and 36%
said that they needed additional powers. Less than a third of teachers (29%)
stated that curriculum and assessment policies in their school have
contributed to poor behaviour.
The top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems that were cited by
teachers were failure to complete work (74%), chatter in class (66%),
inability to follow rules (66%), backchat (57%), and a failure to bring
equipment (52%).
Teachers were asked to identify whether they were subject to various forms
of abuse and bullying behaviour by pupils and parents in the last year. Over
three fifths of all teachers (61%) stated that they were subject in the last
year to verbal abuse by pupils and over a fifth (21%) were subject to threats
of physical assault by pupils. Eighteen per cent of teachers said that they
were threatened and abused on social networks by pupils and a quarter
(26%) said that they were physically assaulted by pupils.
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Top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
74%
66%
66%
57%
Failure to
complete
work
Chatter in
class
Inability to
follow rules
Backchat
52%
Failure to
bring
equipment
Almost a third of all teachers (29%) stated that they were subject in the last
year to verbal abuse by parents and 16% were subject to threats of physical
assault by parents. Sixteen per cent of teachers said that they were
threatened and abused on social networks by parents.
Over two thrids of teachers (69%) do not feel supported by senior
management teams when dealing with issues of pupil indiscipline.
Furthermore, support is also not available from external support services,
as more than four fifths of teachers (88%) reported that they did not have
access to external support when they needed it.
Workload and Bureaucracy
Teacher assessment systems, and the processes associated with recording
pupil data are now a massive workload burden, with inspection
also continuing to be a workload burden.
When asked about their key concerns about their job, over four fifths of
teachers (85%) cited workload as their number-one issue.
In order to determine the drivers of workload, teachers were asked about
the causes of workload and bureaucracy in schools. The top five causes
cited were record keeping (69%), pupil target setting (54%), report writing
(43%), curriculum change (39%), and meetings before and after school
(35%).
Over two fifths of teachers (41%) cited assessment as the key generator of
excessive workload. Other drivers identified in the top five were curriculum
changes (53%), cover for absence (41%), administration tasks (38%), and
school-self-evaluation (35%).
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Top five causes of workload and bureaucracy in schools
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
69%
54%
43%
Record
keeping
39%
Pupil target Report writing Curriculum
setting
changes
35%
Meetings
before and
after school
Empowerment and Professionalism
Teachers continue to feel disempowered, with concern being expressed
about a lack of respect for teachers and teachers citing unreasonable
expectations placed upon them.
Seventy-nine per cent of teachers stated that they believe they are not
managed in a way that empowers them.
When asked to identify the factors that lead to disempowerment, the top
five factors identified were constant change (73%), a lack of respect for
teachers’ professional judgement (64%), a lack of understanding of the
nature of their job from decision makers (62%), unrealistic expectations
(55%), and a culture of blame or criticism (51%).
Top five factors that lead to disempowerment
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
73%
64%
62%
55%
Constant
change
Lack of
respect
Lack of
Unrealistic
understanding expectations
about the job
by decision
makers
51%
Culture of
blame or
criticism
Four per cent of teachers have been threatened with capability procedures
in the last year and 3% have been subject to capability procedures. Two
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per cent of teachers have either been offered or have been put on support
programmes.
Unfortunately, not all teachers experienced continuous professional
development. 23% of teachers said that they have not accessed CPD in
the last 12 months. More than four fifths of teachers (82%) believe that all
teachers should have a contractual entitlement to CPD in working time.
Buildings and Resources
Teachers remain concerned about the nature and quality of the resources
that they have available to them.
Half of teachers (50%) stated that their buildings were not fit to teach in,
and half (50%) said that their buildings were not fit for pupils.
Over half of teachers (55%) said that they are not provided with the
resources to allow them to teach and almost three quarters of teachers
(73%) surveyed said that they did not have high-quality ICT provision.
Health and Wellbeing
When teachers were asked about how their school views their wellbeing,
two thirds of teachers (66%) reported that their wellbeing is not considered
important by the school and over four fifths (85%) said that their job has
impacted negatively on their wellbeing.
More than four fifths of teachers (84%) stated that they have experienced
more workplace stress in the last 12 months.
Over three fifths (63%) of teachers stated that the job had adversely
affected their mental health in the last 12 months, and three fifths (60%)
said that the job had adversely affected their physical health. Furthermore,
teachers reported a range of negative mental/physical problems as a result
of work, including: loss of sleep (68%), anxiousness (71%), low energy
levels (69%) and irritability/mood swings (56%). Over one in ten teachers
(12%) stated that they had started using antidepressants in the past 12
months. Two per cent of teachers said that they had self-harmed in the past
year.
Consequently, where the job had affected their physical and mental health
in the last 12 months, almost two fifths (39%) had seen a doctor and almost
a quarter (23%) had had to take medication. Eight per cent had undergone
counselling and 3% had been admitted to hospital.
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Teachers whose job has affected their physical and mental health
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
39%
23%
8%
Seen a
doctor
Had to take
medication
3%
Undergone
counselling
Admitted to
hospital
Respect and Job Satisfaction
Teachers continue to feel that they are less respected than before by their
school management and over half of teachers do not feel valued.
Over two fifths of teachers (41%) said that they do not feel respected as
professionals and over a third (34%) said that they do not believe that their
classroom expertise is valued.
More than half of teachers (55%) stated that they believe their opinions are
not valued by school management. A quarter (25%) said their work is not
valued by parents and more than half (55%) said that they believe their work
is not valued by school management.
Teachers were asked what they like most about their jobs. The top five
reasons stated were interacting with pupils (87%), seeing young children
progress (87%), teaching (82%), making a positive difference (80%), and
support from colleagues (45%). This demonstrates once more the sense of
public service that teachers feel.
Top five factors which are liked about the job
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
87%
87%
82%
80%
45%
Interacting
with pupils
Seeing
children
progress
Teaching
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Making a
positive
difference
Support from
colleagues
However, dissatisfaction is acute and workload is still the prime concern
for teachers.
Three fifths of teachers (60%) stated that they are currently dissatisfied with
their job. Over two thirds (69%) said that their job satisfaction has declined
in the last 12 months.
When asked what their key concerns were, teachers identified that
workload was once more the key concern; this was highlighted by 85%.
The other concerns identified in the top five were curriculum changes (53%),
pay (51%), pension (48%) and pupil behaviour (48%).
Top five concerns of teachers
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
85%
Workload
53%
51%
48%
48%
Curriculum
changes
Pay
Pension
Pupil
behaviour
More teachers than ever are thinking of leaving their jobs. Almost three
quarters of teachers are seriously considering leaving their job (70%), and
over three fifths (62%) are thinking of quitting the profession altogether.
Further Research and Surveys
The NASUWT is committed to undertaking a Big Question survey annually.
This complements other members’ surveys.
NASUWT-commissioned research and survey reports are available for
download at www.nasuwt.org.uk.
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Tel: 0131 226 8480
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nasuwt.org.uk
16/07074 Scotland