NASUWT
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 12,000 teachers from England 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.
The Big Question series offers a unique opportunity to track trends in
teachers’ and school leaders’ opinions over time, demonstrating the
developing views of teachers and school leaders and the issues impacting
on their work.
Pay and Cost of Living
Almost four fifths (79%) of teachers do not believe that teachers’ salaries
are competitive when compared to those of other professions, an increase
of 11% since 2011, and two thirds 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: half (50%) of teachers had to cut
back on spending on clothing; a third (33%) had to cut back on expenditure
on food; almost a quarter (21%) had to cut back on essential household
items; over a quarter (26%) had to increase the use of credit; 15% had to
extend their overdrafts; and 7% had to delay the paying of bills.
Over two thirds of teachers (69%) believe that they are not paid at a level
that is commensurate to their skills and experiences, and almost three fifths
(58%) have not received the pay progression to which they are entitled.
Less than half (47%) of teachers are paid for the full range of responsibilities
they undertake, and two thirds (62%) would not trust their headteacher to
make fair/objective decisions about pay progression.
Nearly three quarter (73%) of teachers would not recommend teaching as
a career, an increase of 7% since the question was first asked in 2014.
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Pupil Behaviour
Teachers’ views about pupil behaviour show that there is an increase in
concern from the 2015 survey. Over three quarters (77%) of teachers said
that they think there is a widespread behaviour problem in schools today,
an increase of 4% from 2015, and over two fifths (44%) said they believe
there is a behaviour problem in their schools, an increase of 2% since 2015.
Furthermore, 80% of teachers said that there is an issue of low-level
disruption amongst the pupils they teach.
When examining the causes of poor pupil behaviour, the top five causes
that teachers selected were lack of parental support (73%), pupil readiness
to learn (58%), class size (41%), lack of back-up from the senior
management team (40%) and low aspirations (39%). Class size as an issue
has risen by 5% since last year.
Top five causes of poor pupil behaviour
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
73%
58%
41%
Lack of
parental
support
Pupil
readiness to
learn
Class size
40%
39%
Lack of back­
Low
up from
aspirations
management
The issues of lack of back-up from senior management, lack of parental
support, low aspirations and pupil readiness have been a feature since the
survey began in 2011.
Over half of teachers (51%) said that they were not given the appropriate
training, information and advice to deal with poor pupil behaviour and 37%
said that they needed additional powers. Two fifths of teachers (40%) 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 half of teachers (51%) 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 (74%), failure to complete work (66%), inability
to follow rules (59%), backchat (57%), and a failure to bring equipment (48%).
All have appeared regularly in the top five since the first Big Question in 2011.
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Top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
74%
66%
59%
57%
48%
Chatter in
class
Failure to
complete
work
Inability to
follow rules
Backchat
Failure to
bring
equipment
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
half of all teachers (54%) stated that they were subject in the last year to
verbal abuse by pupils and almost a fifth (15%) were subject to threats of
physical assault by pupils. Three per cent of teachers said that they were
threatened and abused on social networks by pupils and 12% said that
they were physically assaulted by pupils.
Over a quarter of all teachers (26%) 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. Three per cent of teachers said that they were
threatened and abused on social networks by parents.
Almost three fifths of teachers (59%) 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 (85%) reported that they did not have
access to external support when they needed it, an increase from 80% in
2014 when the question was first asked.
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, more than four fifths
of teachers (90%) 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
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cited were pupil target setting (58%), record keeping (60%), entering pupil
data (50%), curriculum changes (40%) and administration for inspection
(38%). Pupil target setting and record keeping have been features of the
Big Question since 2011.
Top five causes of workload and bureaucracy in schools
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
58%
Pupil target
setting
60%
50%
Record
keeping
Entering pupil
data
40%
38%
Curriculum
changes
Administration
for inspection
Three quarters of teachers (75%) cited assessment as the key generator of
excessive workload; this is a rise of 41% since 2014 when it first appeared
in the top five. Other drivers identified in the top five were curriculum
changes (45%), administration tasks (37%), meetings (36%) and classroom
observation (32%).
Empowerment and Professionalism
Teachers continue to feel disempowered, with increased concern being
expressed about a lack of respect for teachers and a significant increase in
those citing unreasonable expectations.
Ninety-three per cent of teachers stated that they believe they are not
managed in a way that empowers them, a rise of 15% from last year.
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
(65%), unreasonable or unrealistic expectations (62%) and a lack of
understanding of the nature of their job from decision makers (60%). The
top three reasons have remained in their respective places since 2011.
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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
65%
Lack of
respect
62%
60%
Unreasonable
Lack of
or unrealistic understanding
expectations about the job
by decision
makers
Nine per cent of teachers have been threatened with capability procedures in
the last year and 3% have been subject to capability procedures. Eight per cent
of teachers have either been offered or have been put on support programmes.
There is overwhelming support for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). More
than nine out of ten teachers (94%) stated that they believed QTS was
important for all teachers to hold.
However, not all teachers experienced continuing professional development
(CPD). Thirty-three per cent of teachers said that they have not accessed CPD
in the last 12 months. More than nine out of ten teachers (93%) believe that
all teachers should have a contractual entitlement to CPD in working time.
Governing Bodies
Over three quarters of teachers (76%) stated that they believe their school’s
governing body would not be fair and balanced on matters concerning staff
discipline/competence, and almost four fifths of teachers (79%) said that
they did not have confidence that their school’s governing body would
make fair and balanced decisions on pay.
More than nine out of ten teachers (93%) said that they believed governors
should undertake mandatory training.
Buildings and Resources
Teachers remain concerned about the nature and quality of the resources
that they have available to them. More than a third of teachers (34%) stated that their buildings were not fit
to teach in, and almost two fifths (39%) said that their buildings were not fit
for pupils.
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Over two fifths of teachers (45%) said that they are not provided with the
resources to allow them to teach and over half of the teachers surveyed
(53%) said that they did not have high-quality ICT provision.
Health and Wellbeing
When teachers were asked about how their school views their wellbeing,
almost two thirds of teachers (64%) reported that their wellbeing is not
considered important by the school and more than four fifths (85%) said
that their job has impacted negatively on their wellbeing.
More than four fifths of teachers (83%) stated that they have experienced
more workplace stress in the last 12 months, an increase of 6% since this
question was first asked in 2012.
Three fifths (60%) of teachers stated that the job had adversely affected
their mental health in the last 12 months, and over half (55%) 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 (84%), anxiousness (80%), low energy levels (71%)
and irritability/mood swings (61%). One in ten teachers (10%) 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 half (48%) had seen a doctor and a third (33%)
had had to take medication. More than one in ten (14%) 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%
48%
33%
14%
Seen a
doctor
Had to take
medication
8
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 a third of teachers (34%) said that they do not feel respected as
professionals and a similar number (32%) said that they do not believe their
classroom expertise is valued. The numbers reporting both of these issues
have increased from 28% and 27% respectively since 2011.
Almost three fifths of teachers (56%) stated that they believe their opinions
are not valued by school management. More than a quarter (30%) said their
work is not valued by parents and more than two fifths (41%) said that they
believe their work is not valued by school management.
Teachers were asked what they like most about their jobs. The responses
are similar to those identified over the last four years – namely, interacting
with pupils (93%), seeing young children progress (89%), teaching (85%),
making a positive difference (82%), and support from colleagues (44%).
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%
93%
89%
85%
82%
44%
Interacting
with pupils
Seeing
children
progress
Teaching
Making a
positive
difference
Support from
colleagues
However, dissatisfaction has grown and workload is still the prime concern
for teachers.
More than half of teachers (57%) stated that they are currently dissatisfied
with their job, an increase of 23% from 2011. Three fifths (60%) said that
their job satisfaction has declined in the last 12 months, an increase of 13%
from the first survey.
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When asked what their key concerns were, teachers identified that
workload was once more the key concern; this was highlighted by 90%, a
16% increase from 2011. The other concerns identified in the top five were
curriculum and qualifications changes (55%), pupil behaviour (44%), pay
(42%), and school inspection (39%). Curriculum and qualifications changes
have increased massively over the last two years, not featuring in the top
five before 2015.
More teachers than ever are thinking of leaving their jobs. More than three
quarters of teachers are seriously considering leaving their job (77%), and
over two thirds of teachers (71%) are thinking of quitting the profession
altogether, an increase of 26% from the first survey in 2011.
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
The Teachers’ Union
Tel: 03330 145550
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nasuwt.org.uk
16/07074 England