Morgan announces working groups to better manage teacher workload

The three groups will be led by frontline staff and tasked with looking at the administrative burden faced by teachers. They will focus on marking, planning and resources and data management and look to spread examples of best practice in these areas.

The development of working groups was informed by Morgan’s ‘workload challenge’ survey last year, which attracted over 44,000 respondents.

Morgan said: “Teachers and leaders told us that much of the work they do every day - such as marking, planning and tracking pupil progress - is essential, but that it’s the volume, duplication, bureaucracy or detail that can prove unnecessary or unproductive.”

“So that’s why I’m delighted to announce today that we’ll be setting up new working groups to address the three biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge - marking, planning and resources, and data management.

“The marking group will look at marking and feedback in schools which are successfully raising standards without generating unnecessary workload, with a focus on the implications of certain practices such as ‘deep marking’.

“The planning and resources group will consider the impact of lesson planning and use of resources in schools to see how effective practice can improve attainment and reduce workload.

“The data management group - announced in February - will develop principles for good in-school data management, including how pupil progress is monitored.”

In response to Morgan’s plans, Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “The workload challenge can be solved by more intelligent accountability, better planning and fewer changes from government – constant short-notice disruption is not conducive to the focus required for good quality teaching. It can squeeze out professional development, harm recruitment and undermine morale”

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