Commenting on Working lives of teachers and leaders: wave 4, a summary report commissioned by the Department for Education and conducted by IFF Research and UCL Institute of Education, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Clearly, nothing meaningful has changed. Despite numerous promises, teachers and leaders continue to be overwhelmed by unmanageable workload and long working hours. Any improvements in 2025 are minor and unlikely to make a significant difference. Full-time teachers still work over 50 hours a week, and full-time leaders work over 56 hours. Only one in four believes their workload is acceptable. This is a national disgrace.
“Eight in ten teachers continue to experience stress at work, and nearly two-thirds say the job leaves them no time for a personal life. Their mental and physical health is being sacrificed to a system that refuses to change. This is why 29 per cent of the workforce is considering leaving within a year and why so many actually do. Only one in six leavers says they are likely to return. The retention crisis is not improving - it is entrenched.
“Teachers’ typical working hours continue to break the spirit of the Working Time Regulations. The government must finally confront the truth: workload is the real crisis. Without concrete measures on Ofsted, flexible working, funding, and pay, our schools will be running on empty. It is simply unsustainable.”