Ofsted boss vows to tackle ‘high stress’ workloads on teachers

The head of Ofsted said she wants to tackle the unreasonable workloads placed on teachers, over fears it is driving many out of the profession.

Chief inspector of schools Amanda Spielman said one of her biggest ambitions was to make the job more manageable.

She told a phone-in session on radio station LBC: “It’s a high stress job. Teachers work extremely hard. There are a lot of expectations to be the solution to a great many (problems) of all kinds. It’s a pressurised job and I’m the first to recognise that.”

Ms Spielman, who recently spoke out about about safety culture in schools, said part of her mission to help teachers was “getting the right workload. Doing the right amount of work and having schools set up in a way that can help them as much as they can”.

When asked by host Iain Dale what she would do if she could change just one thing in schools, she said her list was “very long”, but it would be to tackle teachers’ workloads.

“If teachers’ workloads could be reduced significantly then I will think we have done a big part of the job we are supposed to be doing,” she said.

Ms Spielman replaced Sir Michael Wilshaw in the post in January, having previously been the chairwoman of qualifications regulator Ofqual.