NASUWT
Undeb yr Athrawon
CYMRU
The Teachers’ Union
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 900 teachers from Wales 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
Almost four fifths (77%) of teachers do not believe that teachers’ salaries
are competitive when compared to those of other professions and almost
two thirds (64%) 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: over half (52%) of teachers had to
cut back on spending on clothing; over a third (36%) had to cut back on
expenditure on food; almost a quarter (23%) had to cut back on essential
household items; over a quarter (26%) had to increase the use of credit;
14% had to extend their overdrafts; and 9% had to delay the paying of bills.
Almost three quarters of teachers (71%) believe that they are not paid at a
level that is commensurate to their skills and experiences. Furthermore,
almost half (46%) of teachers are not paid for the full range of
responsibilities they undertake.
Over three quarters (76%) of teachers would not recommend teaching as
a career.
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Pupil Behaviour
Over four fifths (81%) of teachers said that they think there is a widespread
behaviour problem in schools today and over two fifths (44%) said they
believe there is a behaviour problem in their schools.
Additionally, 84% 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 (72%), pupil readiness
(57%), lack of back-up from the senior management team (54%), class size
(46%), and low aspirations (43%).
Top five causes of poor pupil behaviour
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
72%
57%
Lack of
parental
support
54%
Pupil
Lack of back­
readiness to
up from
learn
management
46%
43%
Class size
Low
aspirations
Almost half of teachers (48%) said that they were not given the appropriate
training, information and advice to deal with poor pupil behaviour and 45%
said that they needed additional powers. Over a third of teachers (35%)
stated that curriculum and assessment policies in their school have
contributed to poor behaviour, and when asked what the feature of those
policies was that had led to poor behaviour, more than three fifths of
teachers (63%) said an excessive focus on data-driven targets.
The top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems that were cited by
teachers were chatter in class (67%), a failure to bring equipment (52%),
inability to follow rules (63%), backchat (59%) and failure to complete work
(67%).
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. Three
fifths of all teachers (60%) stated that they were subject in the last year to
verbal abuse by pupils and almost a fifth (17%) were subject to threats of
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physical assault by pupils. Five per cent of teachers said that they were
threatened and abused on social networks by pupils and 14% said that
they were physically assaulted by pupils.
Top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
67%
Chatter in
class
67%
Failure to
complete
work
63%
Inability to
follow rules
59%
Backchat
52%
Failure to
bring
equipment
A third of all teachers (33%) stated that they were subject in the last year to
verbal abuse by parents and 3% were subject to threats of physical assault
by parents. Six per cent of teachers said that they were threatened and
abused on social networks by parents.
Almost half of teachers (49%) 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 (88%) 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 pupil target setting (61%), record keeping (51%), administration
for inspection (49%), curriculum changes (42%), and entering pupil data
(41%).
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Top five causes of workload and bureaucracy in schools
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
61%
51%
Pupil target
setting
Record
keeping
49%
42%
Administration Curriculum
for inspection
changes
41%
Entering pupil
data
Almost three quarters of teachers (70%) cited assessment as the key
generator of excessive workload. Other drivers identified in the top five were
curriculum changes (48%), administration tasks (39%), observations (36%),
and meetings before and after school (36%).
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.
Ninety-one 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 (80%), a culture of blame or
criticism (71%), a lack of respect for teachers’ professional judgement
(67%), a lack of understanding of the nature of their job from decision
makers (60%), and unrealistic expectations (58%).
Top five factors that lead to disempowerment
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
80%
71%
Constant
change
Culture of
blame or
criticism
67%
60%
58%
Lack of
Lack of
Unrealistic
respect for understanding expectations
professional about the job
judgement
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Five per cent of teachers have been threatened with capability procedures
in the last year and 4% have been subject to capability procedures. Five
per cent of teachers have either been offered or have been put on support
programmes.
Unfortunately, not all teachers experienced continuing professional
development (CPD). Forty-two per cent of teachers said that they have not
accessed CPD in the last 12 months. More than four fifths of teachers (88%)
believe that all teachers should have a contractual entitlement to CPD in
working time.
Governing Bodies
More than nine out of ten teachers (92%) said that they believed that
governors should undertake mandatory training.
Buildings and Resources
Teachers remain concerned about the nature and quality of the resources
they have available to them.
Almost two fifths of teachers (39%) stated that their buildings were not fit
to teach in, and almost a third (32%) said that their buildings were not fit
for pupils.
Half of teachers (50%) said that they are not provided with the resources to
allow them to teach and over half of the teachers (52%) 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,
over two thirds of teachers (71%) reported that their wellbeing is not
considered important by the school and over four fifths (86%) said that their
job has impacted negatively on their wellbeing.
More than four fifths of teachers (89%) stated that they have experienced
more workplace stress in the last 12 months.
Over three fifths (65%) of teachers stated that the job had adversely
affected their mental health in the last 12 months, and almost three fifths
(57%) said that the job had adversely affected their physical health.
Furthermore, teachers reported a range of negative mental/physical
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problems as a result of work including: loss of sleep (79%), anxiousness
(74%), low energy levels (68%) and irritability/mood swings (60%). Over one
in ten teachers (11%) stated that they had started using antidepressants in
the past 12 months. Four per cent of teachers said that they had selfharmed in the past year.
Consequently, where the job had affected their physical and mental health
in last 12 months, more than two fifths (45%) had seen a doctor and over
a quarter (28%) had had to take medication, 12% had undergone
counselling and 5% had been admitted to hospital.
Teachers whose job has affected their physical and mental health
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
45%
28%
12%
Seen a
doctor
Had to take
medication
Undergone
counselling
5%
Admitted to
hospital
Respect and Job Satisfaction
Teachers continue to feel that they are not respected by their school
management and over half of teachers do not feel valued.
Over two fifths of teachers (42%) said that they do not feel respected as
professionals and over a third (37%) said that they do not believe their
classroom expertise is valued.
More than three fifths of teachers (62%) stated that they believe their
opinions are not valued by school management. More than a two fifths
(43%) said their work is not valued by parents and more than three fifths
(62%) said they believe their work is not valued by school management.
Teachers were asked what they like most about their jobs. The top five
stated were interacting with pupils (90%), seeing young children progress
(90%), teaching (83%), making a positive difference (75%), and support
from colleagues (40%). This demonstrates once more the sense of public
service that teachers feel.
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Top five factors which are liked about the job
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
90%
90%
83%
75%
40%
Interacting
with pupils
Seeing
children
progress
Teaching
Making a
positive
difference
Support from
colleagues
However, dissatisfaction is acute and workload is still the prime concern
for teachers.
Almost two thirds of teachers (66%) stated that they are currently
dissatisfied with their job. Almost three quarters (74%) 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 88%.
The other concerns identified in the top five were pupil behaviour (52%),
curriculum changes (46%), school budget cuts (41%) and pay (38%).
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
88%
Top five concerns of teachers
52%
Workload
Pupil
behaviour
46%
Curriculum
changes
41%
38%
School
budget cuts
Pay
More teachers than ever are thinking of leaving their jobs. Three quarters
of teachers are seriously considering leaving their job (75%), and a similar
number (72%) are thinking of quitting the profession altogether.
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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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NASUWT
Undeb yr Athrawon
CYMRU
The Teachers’ Union
Tel: 029 2054 6080
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nasuwt.org.uk
16/07074 Wales