More than 85% of NI teachers feel workload is unmanageable – report

More than 85% of teachers in Northern Ireland feel that their workload is unmanageable, a new report has found.

The Independent Review Panel was tasked with examining all aspects of workload faced by teachers and school leaders.

It was part of the teachers’ pay settlement for 2024/25, and includes responses from more than 7,700 teachers and school leaders.

It found that 85.8% of teachers and school leaders feel they do not have a manageable workload, and 77% cannot achieve a good work-life balance. They raised excessive paperwork, tracking and monitoring, and pupil behaviour.

It has also made some 27 recommendations.

These include that the role of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee is enhanced and fully resourced to transform the education system, and that the Education Authority develops a more robust framework to support schools in processing parental complaints.

Education Minister Paul Givan said he will consider the recommendations carefully.

“Workload has been a key concern raised by teachers and school leaders since my appointment as Education Minister in early 2024,” he said.

“In response, I commissioned this review as part of my commitment to addressing workload pressures and ensuring teachers can focus on teaching, learning and supporting pupils in the classroom.

“In the weeks ahead, I will consider the recommendations carefully and work with officials to agree a clear way forward.

“While financial pressures remain significant, this report provides an important basis for addressing the longstanding concerns around teacher and school leader workload.”

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) welcomed the report as a “stark and compelling vindication of the concerns that members have raised for years”.

Matt Wrack, NASUWT general secretary, said the report is a “watershed moment”.

“It confirms in the clearest possible terms what the NASUWT and our members have been saying: teacher workload is out of control and is damaging both the profession and the education of our young people,” he said.

“The panel has listened to the evidence and produced a serious set of 27 recommendations which, if implemented fully and urgently, can begin to rebuild a sustainable and healthy profession.

“We particularly welcome the strong focus on restoring teachers’ professional agency, the call for genuine collective consultation on Directed Time Budgets, and the urgent recommendations to tackle the immense burdens of assessment, SEN provision and unnecessary administration.

“The emphasis on supporting school leaders, who are under unprecedented strain, is also vital.”

Justin McCamphill, NASUWT national official Northern Ireland, added: “The panel has identified that there is ‘no single solution’ but rather a need for a ‘framework of progressive reforms’. This report provides that blueprint. The challenge now is delivery.

“The recommendation in this report cannot be delivered without a fully resourced implementation plan which can turn these recommendations into tangible improvements in every classroom in Northern Ireland.

“Our members have suffered from burnout and excessive stress for too long.

“This report must be the catalyst for real change, not just another document that gathers dust.”