Staff Wellbeing & Workload: The Hidden Engine of Pupil Outcomes

Why it matters: Staff stress and attrition erode continuity, relationships and curriculum quality—key drivers of pupil wellbeing.

What the data says:

• In 2024, leaders reported 56.6 hours/week on average (down slightly from 57.4 in 2023). Only a minority of teachers feel their workload is “acceptable.” GOV.UK AssetsGOV.UK

• Other surveys echo a picture of high weekly hours across roles, breaching the 48-hour benchmark of UK Working Time Regulations for many. National Education Union

Practical levers schools control:

• Marking & feedback: shift to in-class feedback, whole-class responses, and selective deep marking aligned to assessment objectives.

• Curriculum and resourcing: shared booklets/slide decks; co-planning templates; halve duplication across year groups.

• Meeting diet: default 45-minute cap, agenda-first, papers out 24 hours ahead; every meeting must end with “what have we stopped doing?”

• Email hygiene: delay-send defaults; no-reply-all norms; pastoral escalation matrices to reduce “FYI sprawl.”

• Wellbeing by design: protect PPA, rota duties transparently, publish a peaks calendar (reporting, exams, trips) with compensatory light weeks.

Leadership signal: Publish two metrics termly: (1) staff-reported workload acceptability and (2) cover lessons per teacher. Link SLT objectives to reducing both.