Commenting on the findings of a survey commissioned by Teach First for its report Ending Educational Inequality, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"It is a catastrophic failure of Government that the work of teachers now extends well beyond the school gates, helping with hardship, social care and mental health. There is no blueprint for this. Schools and colleges must work to support young people and their families, often without training. This is a clear consequence of specialist support being decimated or simply unable to cope with demand.
"Workload is a key factor in the reasons why so many teachers are leaving the profession. A revolving door of education secretaries have expressed concern, but little progress has been made. Our members are not feeling the benefit of warm words. A promise was made at the conclusion of last year's pay dispute that real movement would be made. We need to see urgent action that significantly shifts the dial."