SSTA ballot gains teacher backing

A majority of Scottish teachers taking part in a ballot about their workload have supported the idea of industrial action on the issue.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) found that 91 percent of its 8,000 members supported action short of a strike, with 64 per cent saying that they would take strike action if necessary.

The union said concerns about workload reflected the introduction of new school qualifications, with Education Secretary John Swinney saying he will reduce teacher workload to improve attainment in schools.

The ballot also discovered that: 96 per cent of respondents lacked confidence in proposed Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) measures to reduce workload in the 2016-17 session; 94 per cent of respondents said they lacked confidence in the SQA's plans to reduce workload; and the Tackling Bureaucracy Report, a Scottish government initiative from March 2015, had failed to reduce teachers' workload in 96 per cent of schools.

Seamus Searson, SSTA general secretary, said: "Teachers have insufficient time to carry out the over-bureaucratic arrangements set out by the SQA.

"The SSTA is requesting that the new cabinet secretary John Swinney, together with local authorities as the employers of teachers, take control of the situation and impose limits on teacher time being spent on such activities that are taking teachers away from teaching and learning."