By Vivienne Russell | 2 January 2013
Teachers’ morale is in ‘crisis’, with the majority feeling untrusted by the government and unconvinced by its education policies, the National Union of Teachers said today.
A YouGov poll of 800 teachers, commissioned by the union, found that more than half (55%) had ‘low’ or ‘very low’ morale, an increase of 13 percentage points since a similar survey in April 2012.
More than two-thirds (69%) said their morale had declined since the 2010 general election, while a similar proportion (71%) said they felt ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ trusted by government.
A large majority (77%) disagreed with Education Secretary Michael Gove’s academies and free schools programme. Three-quarters of teachers working in academies were of this view.
On proposed changes to teachers’ pay arrangements, 77% opposed the idea of giving head teachers or governing bodies discretion over pay. And a large majority (81%) believed Gove’s proposals for a new secondary examination, the English Baccalaureate, were being rushed through without sufficient consultation.
Commenting on the findings, NUT general secretary Christine Blower, said: ‘Teachers do not need to be subjected to continual criticism and undermining of pay and conditions. This survey paints a very sorry picture and is a damning indictment of coalition government policies.
‘Michael Gove has been allowed to rush through educational reforms and his academies and free schools projects are based on little or no evidence.’
Blower called on the prime minister to ‘rein in’ Gove who she said had lost the respect of the teaching profession.
In response to the NUT’s claims, a Department for Education spokesman said: ‘We are reforming our education system to raise standards by giving more power to head teachers, attracting the best graduates and professionals, and helping those teaching now to do their jobs even better.
‘Our academy and free schools programme gives schools greater freedom so that more schools are run by great heads and teachers. And results show they are already having a positive impact, with performance in sponsored academies improving at almost twice the rate of maintained schools in 2011.’
