Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, responds to the written statement of Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and Welsh Language, about plans to reduce workload for school staff.
“We welcome this statement and the commitment to tackling unmanageable workloads in schools. The school funding crisis has left teachers and leaders having to do more with less and it is clear that something has to change. Reducing the reporting burdens faced by schools will be key in starting to remove some of the unnecessary tasks that staff face. We also support plans to end the practice of mock inspections by external agencies. The inspection process is a time of high pressure for school leaders and we would like to see more work being done to ensure the impact on staff workload and wellbeing is kept in mind at every stage.
“While we remain concerned that funding challenges and the recruitment and retention crisis will continue to increase staff workload, this statement is, nevertheless, an important step in the right direction.”