NASUWT
The Teachers’ Union
Northern Ireland
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 500 teachers from Northern Ireland 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 (81%) of teachers do not believe that teachers’ salaries are
competitive when compared to those of other professions and more than
two thirds (70%) 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 two thirds (64%) of teachers
had to cut back on spending on clothing; over a third (39%) had to cut back
on expenditure on food; over a quarter (29%) had to cut back on essential
household items; over a third (36%) had to increase the use of credit; 13%
had to extend their overdrafts; and 13% had to delay the paying of bills.
Almost four fifths of teachers (78%) believe that they are not paid at a level
that is commensurate to their skills and experiences. Furthermore, less than
two fifths (37%) of teachers are paid for the full range of responsibilities
they undertake.
Sixty per cent of teachers would not recommend teaching as a career.
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Pupil Behaviour
Over four fifths (82%) 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, 83% 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 (74%), lack of enforcement
of the school rules (62%), class size (50%), low aspirations (46%), and lack
of back-up from the senior management team (43%).
Top five causes of poor pupil behaviour
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
74%
62%
50%
Lack of
parent
support
Lack of
enforcement of
the school rules
Class size
46%
43%
Low
Lack of back up
aspirations
from senior
management
Almost two fifths of teachers (39%) 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. Over a quarter
of teachers (27%) 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 (62%) said an excessive focus on data-driven targets.
The top five causes of day-to-day behaviour problems that were cited by
teachers were failure to complete work (72%), chatter in class (68%), inability
to follow rules (62%), a failure to bring equipment (64%), and backchat (60%).
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. Half of
all teachers (50%) 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. Eight per cent of teachers said that they were threatened
and abused on social networks by pupils and 13% 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%
72%
Failure to
complete
work
68%
Chatter in
class
62%
64%
60%
Inability to
follow rules
Failure to
bring
equipment
Backchat
Over a quarter of all teachers (31%) stated that they were subject in the last
year to verbal abuse by parents and 6% 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 two thirds of teachers (65%) do not feel supported by senior
management teams when dealing with issues of pupil indiscipline.
Furthermore, support is not available from external support services, as
more than four fifths of teachers (87%) 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, almost four fifths of
teachers (87%) 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 (65%), administration for inspection (57%),
record keeping (53%), writing reports (35%), and entering pupil data (34%).
Over a half of teachers (51%) cited assessment as the key generator of
excessive workload. Other drivers identified in the top five were
administration tasks (48%), inspection (47%), target setting (34%), and
school self-evaluation (37%).
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Top five causes of workload and bureaucracy in schools
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
65%
57%
Pupil target Administration
setting
for inspection
53%
Record
keeping
35%
34%
Writing
reports
Entering pupil
data
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.
Eighty-eight 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 (77%), a lack of respect for
teachers’ professional judgement (67%), a culture of blame or criticism
(66%), a lack of understanding of the nature of their job from decision
makers (60%), and teachers’ views are not sought/listened to (52%).
Top five factors that lead to disempowerment
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
77%
67%
Constant
change
Lack of
respect
66%
60%
Culture of
blame or
criticism
Lack of
understanding
about the job
from decision
makers
52%
Views not
sought or
listened to
Four per cent of teachers have been threatened with capability procedures in
the last year and 4% have been subject to capability procedures. One per cent
of teachers have either been offered or have been put on support programmes.
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Unfortunately, not all teachers experienced continuing professional
development (CPD). Forty-six per cent 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.
Boards of Governors
More than nine out of ten teachers (91%) said that they believed that
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 two fifths of teachers (41%) stated that their buildings were not
fit to teach in, and over two fifths (44%) said that their buildings were not fit
for pupils.
Over two fifths of teachers (43%) said that they are not provided with the
resources to allow them to teach and almost half of the teachers surveyed
(49%) 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 (65%) reported that their wellbeing is not
considered important by the school and four fifths (80%) 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.
Over three fifths (63%) of teachers stated that the job had adversely
affected their mental health in the last 12 months, and almost two thirds
(64%) 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 (79%), anxiousness
(76%), low energy levels (70%) and irritability/mood swings (54%). Almost
one in ten teachers (8%) stated that they had started using antidepressants
in the past 12 months. One 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, over two fifths (42%) had seen a doctor and the same
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amount (40%) had had to take medication. More than a fifth (21%) had
undergone counselling and 4% had been 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 a third of teachers (37%) said that they do not feel respected as
professionals and a similar number (33%) said that they do not believe that
their classroom expertise is valued.
Less than three fifths of teachers (47%) stated that they believe their
opinions are not valued by school management. More than a quarter (27%)
said their work is not valued by parents and three fifths (60%) 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
factors stated were interacting with pupils (99%), teaching (93%), seeing
young children progress (91%), making a positive difference (82%), and
support from colleagues (46%). 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%
99%
93%
91%
82%
46%
Interacting
with pupils
Teaching
Seeing young
people
progress
Making a
positive
difference
Support from
colleagues
However, dissatisfaction is acute and workload is still the prime concern
for teachers.
More than a half of teachers (52%) stated that they are currently dissatisfied
with their job. Almost three fifths (56%) said that their job satisfaction has
declined in the last 12 months.
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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 87%.
The other concerns identified in the top five were pension (52%), pay (52%),
pupil behaviour (50%), and school budget cuts (45%).
More teachers than ever are thinking of leaving their jobs. More than three
fifths of teachers are seriously considering leaving their job (64%), and a
similar number (61%) 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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NASUWT
The Teachers’ Union
Northern Ireland
Tel: 028 9078 4480
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nasuwt.org.uk
16/07074 Northern Ireland