Findings show high teacher burnout is making some question staying in the career

A new survey from the NASUWT teaching union suggests nearly 3 in 4 UK secondary teachers are considering leaving the profession due to burnout. The same survey of NASUWT members shows 70% report stress at work has had an impact on their teaching, with 34% explaining this stress had been significant and severe. The survey speaks to 1,000 UK secondary school teachers in both state and independent schools. Teachers are aware that stress can have an impact on the quality of their teaching, with 63% feeling guilty because of this. Despite burnout and stress negatively impacting teachers and how they feel about their teaching, they continue to support young people as much as they are able. The findings go on to show that 31% have worked while they feel mentally unwell, and 45% refer to themselves as a ‘bad teacher’ when needing to work while experiencing severe burnout. These experiences in education have led to some senior school leaders wanting to see a change to the education system to help retain staff and reduce unnecessary pressure on teachers, while still supporting students. Read more here.