CHARTERED COLLEGE COMMENTS ON GLOBAL TEACHER STATUS INDEX

The Chartered College of Teaching has today (08 November) commented on the publication of the Global Teacher Status Index. The report, produced by the Varkey Foundation surveyed 1,000 members of the public and 200 teachers in each of 35 countries around the world.

Key findings include:

Teachers in the UK are working the fourth highest number of hours per week (50.9) out of 35 countries surveyed
Members of the public believe British teachers only work 45.9 hours a week and that they earn £5,000 more than they actually do. The public underestimates the number of hours teachers put in by almost a whole school day per week
In the UK, only 23% of adults would push their child to become a teacher, the ninth lowest among the countries surveyed.

Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, said:

“It will come as no surprise to our teachers that they are working longer hours than many of their colleagues around the world. What’s alarming is the sheer number of hours. This is not a case of a few hours here and there, our teachers are working over 50 hours a week, placing them closer and closer to burnout and deciding to leave the profession. With the report finding that parents in the UK were some of the least likely to encourage their children to go into teaching, we need to work together to support our teachers, so they can do the job they trained to do and raise the status of the profession.

At the Chartered College we want to inspire our fantastic teachers to deliver the best possible education for children and young people. To do that, we want to ensure teachers have access to the knowledge and evidence of good practice. This way they can focus on what works and have the confidence to stop doing what does not work. We want to see the teaching profession embrace a culture of lifelong learning and celebration across the profession, and let our teachers shape the future of their profession.”