Commenting on the passing of motion 15 at Annual Conference in Harrogate, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“If we are to turn the page on the recruitment and retention crisis that is gripping the education service, we need action to address the causes of why so many teachers and support staff have work-related stress.
“There are many factors behind this stress. Excessive workload is one of them. The government’s own figures show that working hours are out of hand and they are getting worse. The NEU’s own State of Education survey, published this week, found that teachers feel stressed at work a majority of the time.
“Ofsted should also accept responsibility for their role in creating work-related stress. As the Gilbert Review highlighted there is ‘a climate of fear and frustration around inspection’ and ‘weakening trust in Ofsted.’ It is high time that Ofsted is replaced with an inspection system that is supportive, effective and fair.
“The underfunding of education that we have experienced since 2010 is another factor. NEU members are working in under-resourced and sometimes crumbling buildings. This is not an environment in which they feel like their work is valued. To make matters worse, teacher pay has fallen by around a fifth against inflation since 2010. We need to see a major pay correction not only to attract more into the profession, but also to keep them.”