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independent.co.uk | Article Link | by Sarah Cassidy, Bryony Clarke

The working lives of teachers have become “unbearable” because of constant monitoring and as a result they are quitting in such numbers that the profession is heading for a crisis, according to an open letter to The Independent signed by 1,200 teachers.

The letter calls for more support and warns that politicians have made teachers’ working lives “increasingly difficult and for many, unbearable” and that “a constant fear of being judged to be failing” was “bleeding the profession dry”.

Teachers who signed the letter, organised by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) union, warn that schools are heading for a teacher supply crisis as more teachers leave and the Government fails to recruit enough new trainees.

They call for the next Government to urgently reform the schools inspectorate, arguing that teachers cannot work under the “constant monitoring of Big Brother Ofsted”. Teachers need to be supported, not punished, they argue.

The letter follows figures disclosed at the ATL union conference this month showing that nearly four in 10 teachers will quit before completing a year in the classroom.

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