Welsh government, too, has recognised the severe challenges facing the recruitment and retention of teachers all over Wales. The Education Workforce Council just last month warned of a potential teacher shortage. In response, the Senedd’s education committee heard a stark warning recently about this vital matter. Newly released figures reveal that Wales is currently training fewer than a third of the secondary school teachers it requires. This shocking gap has led to desperate pleas for change.
In order to address these challenges, the Welsh government is investing an extra £262.5m to the education sector. Many feel that this funding will not be sufficient to address the systemic problems with teacher workload. They too believe it misses the mark to meaningfully boost morale among educators.
Lowri Mai Jones, a former teacher from Llandygai near Bangor, Gwynedd, decided to take the plunge. She quit her teaching job to open her own nail studio. Looking back on her time, she remembered the impossible expectations for educators. “From my experience, I would stay in the school until about half five, then I would come home, make dinner, sort the children, and then go back to do more work,” she said. Jones emphasized the difficulty teachers face in managing their responsibilities, stating that the workload does not allow for adequate planning or marking during designated school hours.
Instead, the schools overload teachers with additional meetings every week. These extra two to three hours of time only add to the challenge. Jones pointed out, “They have meetings. In some schools we’re talking about two to three extra hours per week, and on top of all that, when do teachers get the time to plan and mark work? That can’t be done between nine and half three.”
The alarm about teacher workloads has certainly not escaped the ears of policymakers. As poet and educator Ioan Rhys Jones observed, the better public understanding of teachers’ schedules would go a long way. “Saying that teachers have 13 weeks of holidays a year, and that they only work from nine to half three, doesn’t give you the whole picture,” he remarked. Herein lies a widening gap between the prevailing narrative in the public sphere, and what those who work in education are actually experiencing.
The Welsh government last month increased funding to back an education. Yet, statewide leaders understand that there’s a lot more work to be done to creatively recruit and keep teaching talent. These challenges are deep and complex, and it will take bold strategies to make teachers’ working conditions supportive, empowering, and joyful.
