Many aspects are to blame for excessive overtime by teachers, however the main causes seem to be
education reforms, accountability and the failure to embrace technology in some schools. Rikama
Education reported on overtime last month finding out that teachers are putting in the equivalent of
9 million hours of free labour each week. Of course, teaching is not the only profession where
somebody must put in extra hours, but why does teaching require so many?
According the Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders,
‘teaching demands individuals to do certain things with children that aren’t in the classroom,’
planning and marking for example. One question must be asked, is there something that can be
done to decrease workload? I have recently been to a primary school in Kent who has potentially
answered this question; once an activity has been demonstrated to the children and they are
working proactively, the teacher walks around the class and marks their books as they work
therefore reducing workload at the end of the day. May not work for every school but worth a try?
What are your thoughts on this? Do you work excessive hours overtime every week and if so please
share why you are?