Shock poll shows 53% of teachers are thinking of leaving the profession in the next two years

More than half of teachers are considering leaving the profession in the next two years, according to a YouGov poll.

With research suggesting that teachers are working anything up to 60 hours a week, a survey published on Sunday offers evidence of plummeting morale among staff. It reveals that 53% of teachers are thinking of quitting in the next couple of years. The top reasons given were “volume of workload” (61%) and “seeking a better work/life balance” (57%).

Morale has fallen in the past five years for two-thirds (67%), the poll of 1,020 teachers found. Roughly one in 10 (9%) feel it has improved. Nearly three-quarters (73%) agreed that current policies for the school curriculum and pupil assessment are narrow and uncreative.

Responding to the findings of the survey, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, who commissioned the poll, said: “The government’s current priorities are both wrong and profoundly out of step with the views of teachers. They are the essential cause of the growing problems with teacher supply.

“This survey demonstrates the combined negative impact of the accountability agenda on teacher workload and morale. Teachers feel that the Department for Education’s work thus far to tackle workload has been totally inadequate.”

The schools minister, Nick Gibb, insisted that the profession remained popular, but admitted that the government needed to act on excessive workloads. “Teaching remains a hugely popular profession, with the highest numbers of people joining since 2008,” he said. “The latest figures show the number of former teachers coming back to the classroom has continued to rise year after year – from 14,720 in 2011 to 17,350 in 2014.

“While the vast majority of teachers stay in their roles for more than five years, we know unnecessary workload can detract from what matters most: teaching. That’s why we launched the Workload Challenge, and are working with the profession to understand and tackle the top issues that teachers said caused the most bureaucracy, with leading education experts taking action on key areas such as marking and lesson planning.”

However, Lucy Powell, the shadow education secretary, said the government was still overly concerned with structures over standards and staffing. “While David Cameron’s government continues to be blinded by ideology and to ignore the chronic shortages of teachers, it is pupils and teachers that are paying the price,” she said. “With the Tories constantly demoralising the profession and botching teacher recruitment, it’s no surprise that schools are now struggling against the highest number of teachers quitting in a decade and falling applications.”